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LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 7. 




NARRATED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 



By PAUL DU CHAILLU, 



AUTHOR OF 



^•DISCOVERIES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA," "WILD LIFE UNDER 

THE EQUATOR," "JOURNEY TO ASHANGO LAND," 

'STORIES OF THE GORILLA COUNTRY," &c. 



fV/T// NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. 



NEW YORK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 



FRANKLIN SQUARE, 



1872, 



-f^ 



3 



> 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

Iii the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 



By transfej 




CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Paul's Letter to his Young Friends, in which he prepares them for 
being "Lost in the Jungle" Page 11 

CHAPTER 11. 
A queer Canoe. — On the Rembo. — We reach the Niembouai. — A de- 
serted Village. — Gazelle attacked by a Snake. — Etia wounded by a 
GoriUa 14 

CHAPTER III. 

Harpooning a Manga. — A great Prize". — Our Canoe capsized. — De- 
scription of the Manga. — Return to Camp 23 

CHAPTER IV. 
We go into the Forest. — Hunt for Ebony-trees. — The Fish-eagles. — 
Capture of a young Eagle. — Impending Fight with them. — Fearful 
roars of Gorillas. — Gorillas breaking down Trees 28 

CHAPTER V. 
Lost, — Querlaouen says we are Bewitched. — Monkeys and Parrots. — 
A deserted Village. — Strange Scene before an Idol. — Bringing in 
the Wounded. — An Invocation ^ 37 

CHAPTER Vi. 
A white Gorilla. — Meeting two Gorillas. — The Female runs away. — 
The Man Gorilla shoAvs fight. — He is killed. — His immense Hands 
and Feet. — Strange Story of a Leopard and a Turtle 48 

CHAPTER VII. 
Return to the Ovenga River. — The Monkeys and their Friends the 
Birds. — They hve together. — Watch by Moonlight for Game. — Kill 
an Oshengui 55 



vi ■ • CONTENTIS. 

CHAPTER VIIL 

We are in a Canoe. — Outfit for Hunting. — See a beautiful Antelope. 
— Kill it. — It is a new Species. — River and forest Swallows. .Page 62 

CHAPTER IX. 
We hear the Cry of a young GoriUa. — Start to capture him. — Fight 
with "his Father." — We kiU him. — Kill the Mother. — Capture 
of the Baby. — Strange Camp Scene 70 

CHAPTER X. 
Jack will have his own way. — He seizes my Leg. — He tears my Panta- 
loons. — He growls at me. — He refuses cooked Food. — Jack makes 
his Bed. — Jack sleeps with one Eye open. — Jack is intractable. ... 81 

CHAPTER XI. 

Start after Land-crabs. — Village of the Crabs. — Each Crab knows his 
House. — Great flight of Crabs. — They bite hard. — Feast on the 
Slain. — A herd of Hippopotami 87 

CHAPTER XII. 
Strange Spiders. — The House-spider. — How they capture their Prey. 
— How they Fight. — Fight between a Wasp and a Spider. — The 
Spider has its Legs cut off, and is carried away. — Burrow Spider 
watching for its Prey 94 

CHAPTER XIII. 

We continue our Wanderings. — Joined by Etia. — We starve. — Gam- 
bo and Etia go in search of Berries. — A herd of Elephants. — The 
rogue Elephant charges me. — He is killed. — He tumbles down 
near me. — Story of Redjioua.. ■. 106 

CHAPTER XrV. 
A formidable Bird. — The People are afraid of it. — A Baby carried 
off by the Guanionien. — A Monkey also seized. — I discover a Gua- 
nionien Nest. — I watch for the Eagles 119 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Cascade of Niama-Biembai. — A native Camp. — Starting for the 
Hunt. — A Man attacked by a GoriUa. — His Gun broken. — The 
Man dies.— His Burial 127 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Funeral of the Gorilla's Victim. — A Man's Head for the Alumbi. — 
The Snake and the Guinea-fowl. — Snake killed. — Visit to the 
House of the Alumbi. — Determine to visit the Sea-coast 137 



CONTENTS. vii 

CHAPTER XVII. 
AtWashington once more. — Delights of the Sea-shore. — I have been 
made a Makaga. — Friends object to my Return into the Jungle. — 
Quengueza taken Sick. — Gives a Letter to his Nephew. — Taking 
leave Page 142 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Departure. — Arrival at Goumbi. — The People ask for the King. — A 
Death-panic in Goumbi. — A Doctor sent for. — Death to the Ani- 
embas. — Three Women accused. — They are tried and killed 148 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Quengueza orders Ilogo to be consulted about his Illness. — ^What the 
People think of Ilogo. — A nocturnal Seance. — Song to Ilogo. — A 
female Medium. — What Ilogo said 162 

CHAPTER XX. 

Departure from Goumbi. — Querlaouen's Village. — Find it deserted. 
— Querlaouen dead. — He has been killed by an Elephant. — Ar- 
rive at Obindji's Town. — Meeting with Querlaouen's Widow. — 
Neither Malaouen nor Gambo at home 167 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Leave for Ashira Land. — In a Swamp. — Cross the Moimtains. — A 
Leopard after us. — Reach the Ashira Country 175 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Great Mountains. — Ashira Land is beautiful. — The People are afraid. 
— Reach Akoonga's Village. — King Olenda sends Messengers and 
Presents. — I reach Olenda's Village 151 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

King Olenda comes to receive me. — He is very old. — Never saw a 
Man so old before. — He beats his Kendo. — He salutes me with 
his Kombo. — Kings alone can wear the Kendo 185 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
They all come to see me. — They say I have an Evil Eye. — Ashira 
Villages. — Olenda gives a great Ball in my Honor. — Beer-houses. 
— Goats coming out of aMountain alive 190 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Ascension of the Ofoubou-Orere and Andele Mountains. — The Ashi- 
ras bleed their Hands. — Story of a Fight betw-een a Gorilla and a 
Leopard. — The Gorilla and the Elephant. — Wild Boars 197 



viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Propose to start for Haunted Mountains. — Olenda says it can not be 
done. — At last I leave Olenda Village. — A Tornado. — We are 
Lost. — We fight a Gorilla. — We kill a Leopard. — Return to Olen- 
da Page 203 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Departure for the Apingi Country. — The Ovigui River. — Dangerous 
Bridge to Cross. — How the Bridge was built. — Glad to escape 
Drowning. — On the Way. — Reach the Oloumy 217 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
A Gorilla. — How he attacked me. — I kill him. — Minsho tells a Story 
of two Gorillas fighting. — -We meet King Remandji. — I fall into 
an Elephant-pit. — Reach Apingi Land 226 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
First Day in Apingi Land. — I fire a Gun. — The Natives are Fright- 
ened. — I give the King a Waistcoat. — He wears it.— rThe Sapadi 
People. — The Music-box. — I must make a Mountain of Beads. ... 238 

CHAPTER ±XX. 
A large Fleet of Canoes. — We ascend the River. — The King paddles 
my Canoe. — Agobi's Village. — We upset. — The King is furious. — 
Okabi, the Charmer. — I read the Bible. — The People are afraid... 246 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
A great Crowd of Strangers. — I am made a King. — I remain in my 
Kingdom. — Good-by to the Young Folks 258 





ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGB 

Fhooting a Leopard Frontispiece. 

The lloYAL Caxoe 15 

The Manga 25 

The Mpano 29 

Felling Ebony-trees 31 

Bringing in the Wounded 43 

Watching Birds and IMonkeys 57 

IShooting the new Antelope 66 

QUERLAOUEN AND HIS IdOL ... 78 

Caught by Jack 82 

Gorilla sleeping 85 

Catching the Ogombons 90 

Bit BY' A Spider 99 

Death of the Bull Elephant HI 

GUANIONIEN carrying OFF A MoNDI...., 122 

Gambo's Friend killed by a Gorilla 133 

Bidding Good-by to Quengueza....' 147 

"ChALLY, ChALLY, DO NOT LET ME I)n:"..>Sy™. 155 

The Songs to Ilogo 163 

Giving Beads to Querlaouen's Wife 173 

Going to Ashira Land 177 

Reception of the King of the Ashiras 186 

The Kendo 189 

Drinking Plantain Beer 193 

Attack on the Wild Boars 201 

An Ashira Idol 202 

Crossing the Ovigui River....". 222 

The Elephant-trap 233 

The Music-box 243 

Okabi and the Leopard 252 

My Housekeeper l\~6 

A 2 



[L®§^ m TTEl^ ^33E1®0. 



CHAPTER 1. 



Paul's letter to his young friends, in which he pre- 



pares THEM FOR BEING " LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



>? 



My dear Young Folks, — In the first book which 1 
wrote for you, we traveled together through the Gorilla 
Country, and saw not only the gigantic apes, but also the 
cannibal tribes which eat men. 

In the second book we continued our hunting, and 
met leopards, elephants, hippopotami, wild boars, great 
serpents, etc., etc. We were stung and chased by the 
fierce Bashikouay ants, and plagued by flies. 

Last spring, your friend Paul, not satisfied with writ- 
ing for young folks, took it into his head to lecture before 
them. When I mentioned the subject to my acquaint- 
ances, many of them laughed at the notion of my lectur- 
ing to you, and a few remarked, " This is another of your 
queer notions." I did not see it ! ! ! I thought I would 
try. 

Thousands of young folks came to your friend Paul's 



1 2 . LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

lectures in Boston, Brooklyn, and New York ; not only 
did my young friends come, but a great many old folks 
were also seen among them. 

The intelligent, eager faces of his young hearers, their . 
sparkling eyes, spoke to him more eloquently than words 
could do, and told him that he had done well to go into 
the great jungle of Equatorial Africa, and that they liked 
to hear what he had done and what he had seen. 

When he asked the girls and boys of New York if he 
should write more books for them, the tremendous cheers 
and hurras they gave him in reply told him that he had 
better go to work. 

When, at the end of his third lecture, he mdde his ap- 
pearance in the old clothes he had worn in Africa, and 
said he would be happy to shake hands with his young 
hearers, the rush then made assured him that they were 
his friends. Oh ! how your hearty hand-shaking glad- 
dened the heart of your friend Paul ; he felt so happy 
as your small hands passed in and out of his ! 

Before writing this new volume, I went to my good 
and esteemed friends, my publishers in Franklin Square, 
and asked them what they thought of a new book for 
Young Folks. 

" Certainly," they said ; " by all means. Friend Paul. 
Write a new book, for Stories of the Gorilla Coijntry 
and Wild Life under the Equator are in great de- 
mand." 

I immediately took hold of my old journals, removed 
the African dust from them, and went to work, and now 
we are going to be Lost in the Jungle. 

Tliere are countries and savages with which you have ^ 



HL'ADY TO START. 13 

been made acquainted in, the two preceding volumes of 
^vliich you will hear no more. Miengai, Ngolai, and Ma- 
kinda are not to lead us through a country of cannibals. 
Aboko will slay no more elephants with me. Fasiko 
and Niamkala are to be left in their o"s\ti country, and 
to many a great chief we have said good-by forever. 

If we have left good friends and tribes of savage men, 
we will go into new countries and among other strange 
people. We shall have lots of adventures ; we will 
slay more wild beasts, and will have fierce encounters 
with them, and some pretty narrow escapes. "We will 
have some very hard times when " lost in the jungle ;" 
we will be hungry and starving for many a day ; we will 
see how curiously certain tribes live, what they eat and 
drink, liow they build, and what they w^orship ; and, be- 
fore the end of our wanderings, you will see your friend 
Paul made king over a strange people ! It makes him 
laugh even now when he thinks of it. 

1 am sure we will not always like our life in the 
woods, but I hope, nevertheless, that you will not be sorry 
to have gone with me in the strange countries where I 
am now to lead you. 

Let us get ready to start. Let us prepare our rifles, 
guns, and revolvers, and take with us a large quantity of 
shoes, quinine, powder, bullets, shot, and lots of beads 
and other things to make presents to the kings and peo- 
ple we shall meet. Oh dear, what loads ! and every thing 
has to be carried on the backs of men ! I shudder when ' 
I think of the trouble ; but never mind ; we shall get 
through our trials, sickness, and dangers safely. En 
a'vant ! that is to say, forward ! 



CHAPTEE II. 

A QUEER CANOE. ON THE EEMBO. WE EEACH THE NIEM- 

BOUAI. A DESERTED VILLAGE. GAZELLE ATTACKED BY 

A SNAKE. ETIA WOUNDED BY A GORILLA. 

The sun is hot ; it is midday. The flies are plaguing 
us ; the boco, the nchouna, the ibolai are hard at work, 
and the question is, which of these three flies will bite us 
the hardest ; they feel lively, for they like this kind of 
weather, and they swarm round our canoes. 

I wish you could have seen the magnificent canoes we 
had ; they were made of single trunks of huge trees. 
We had left the village of Goumbi, where my good 
friend Quengueza, of whom I have spoken before, and 
the best friend I had in Africa, reigned. 

Our canoes were paddling against the current of the 
narrow and deep River Rembo. You may well ask 
}'ourselves where is the place for which I am bound. If 
you had seen us you might have thought we were going 
to make war, for the canoes were full of men who were 
covered with all their war fetiches ; their faces were paint- 
ed, and they were loaded with implements of war. The 
drums beat furiously, and the paddlers, as we ascended, 
were singing war -songs, and at times they would sing 
praises in honor of their king, saying that Quengueza 
was above all kings. 



A QUEER CANOE. 



15 



Quengueza and I were in the royal canoe, a superb 
piece of wood over sixty feet long, the prow being an 
imitation of an immense crocodile's head, whose jaws 
were wide open, showing its big, sharp, pointed teeth. 
This was emblematic, and meant that it would swallow 
all the enemies of the king. In our canoe there were 



''mm 





TUE EOYAL CAKOE. 



more than sixty paddlers. At the stern was seated old 
Quengueza, the queen, who held an umbrella over the 
head of his majesty, and myself, and seated back of us 
all was Adouma, the king's nephew, who was armed with 
an immense paddle, by which he guided the canoe. 

How warm it was ! Every few minutes I dipped my 
old Panama hat, which was full of green leaves, into the 



16 LOST IN THU JUNGLE. 

water, and also my umbrella, for, I tell you, the sun 
seemed almost as hot as fire. The bodies of the poor 
paddlers were shining with the oil that exuded from 
their skin. 

If you had closely inspected our canoes you would 
have seen a great number of axes; also queer-looking 
harpoons, the use o:^which you might well be curious 
about. We were bound for a river or creek called the 
Niembouai, and on what I may call an African picnic"; 
that is to say, we were going to build a camp on the 
banks of that river, and then we were to hunt wild beasts 
of the forest, but, above all, we were to try to harpoon an 
enora^ous. creature called by the natives manga, a huge 
thing living in fresh water, and which one might imagine 
to be a kind of whale. 

The distance from Goumbi to Niembouai was about 
fifteen miles. After three hours' paddling against a 
strong current we reached the MembOuai River. As we 
entered this stream the strong current ceased ; the water 
became sluggish, and seemed to expand into a kind of 
lake, covered in many places with a queer kind of long 
tufted reed. For miles round the country looked entire- 
ly desolate. Now and then a flock of pelicans were seen 
swimming, and a long-legged crane was looking on, the 
shore for fish. 

At the mouth of the I^iembouai, on a higlr hill, stood 
an abandoned Bakalai village called Akaka ; the chief, 
whom I had known, was dead, and the people had fled 
for fear of the evil spirits. Nothing was left of the vil- 
lage but a few plantain-trees; the walls of the huts had 
all tumbled down. 

How dreary all seemed for miles round Akaka. The 



A sroKM. 17 

lands were overflowed, and, as I have said before, were 
covered with reeds. Far off against the sky, toward the 
east -northeast, towered high mountain peaks, which I 
hoped to explore. They rose bhie against the sky, and 
seemed, as I looked at them through my telescope, to be 
covered with vegetation to their very tops. These 
mountains were the home of wild men and still wilder 
beasts. I thought at once how nice it would be for me 
to plant the Stars and Stripes on the highest mountains 
there. 

As we advanced farther up the river the moun 
were lost sight of, and still w^e paddled up the IS 
bouai. Canoe after canoe closed upon us, until ai 
the whole fleet of King Quengueza were abreast o 
royal canoe, when I fii-ed a gun, which was respond 
by a terrific yell from all the men. 

Then Quengueza, with a loud voice, gave the order to 
make for a spot to* which he pointed, where we were to 
land and build our camp. Soon afterward we reached 
the place, and found the land dry, covered with huge 
trees to protect us from the intense heat of -the sun, from 
the heavy dews of night, and from slight showers. 

The men all scattered into the forest, some to cut long 
poles and short sticks for our beds ; others went to col- 
lect palm-leaves to make a kind of matting to be iised 
as roofing. - The first thing to be done was for the peo- 
ple to make a nice olako for their king and myself. 

Our shelter was hardly finished w^hen a terrible rain- 
storm burst upon us, preceded by a most terrific tornado^ 
for we were in the month of March. By sunset the 
storm was all over ; it cooled the air deliciously, for the 
heat had been intense. At noon, under the shade of my 



18 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

umbrella while in the canoe, the thermometer showed 
119° Fahrenheit. 

We had brought lots of food, and many women had 
accompanied us, who were to fish, and were also to cook 
for the people. The harpoons were well taken care of, 
for we fully expected to harpoon a few of the mangas. 

The manga canoes were to arrive during the night, 
for the canoes we had were not fit for the capture of 
such large game. 

In the evening old Quengueza was seated by the side 
of a bright fire ; the good old man seemed quite happy. 
He had brought with him a jug of palm wine, from 
which he took a drink from time to time, until he be- 
gan to feel the effects of the beverage, and became 
somewhat jolly. His subjects were clustered in groups 
around several huge fires, which blazed so brightly that 
the whole forest seemed to be lighted by them. 

I put my two mats on my bed of leaves, hung my 
musquito nets as a protection against the swarms of 
musquitoes, then laid myself down under it with one of 
my guns at my side, placed my revolv^ers under my 
head, and bid good-night to Quengueza. 

I did not intend to go right to sleep, but wished to 
listen to the talk of the people. The prospect of hav- 
ing plenty of meat to eat appeared to make them mer- 
ry, and after each one had told his neighbor how much 
he could eat if he had it, and that he could eat more 
manga than any other man that he knew, the subject of 
food was exhausted. Then came stories of adventures 
with savage beasts and with ghosts. 

We had in company many great men. The chief of 
them all was good old Quengueza, formerly a great w ■ 



ETIA TELLS A STORY. jg 

rior. After the king came Eapero Ouendogo, Azisha 
Olenga, Adouma, Rakenga Rikati Kombe, and Wombi 
— all men of courage and daring, belonging to the Abou- 
ya, a clan of warriors and hunters. 

We had slaves also ; among them many belonged to 
the king — slaves that loved him, and whose courage was 
as great as that of any man belonging ta^'the tribe. 
Among them was Etia, the mighty and great slayer of 
gorillas and elephants. Etia provided game for Quen- 
gueza's table ; he was one of the beloved slaves of the 
king, and he was also a great friend of mine. We were, 
indeed, old friends, for we had hunted a good deal to- 
gether. 

On a sudden all merriment stopped, for Ouendogo had 
shouted " let Etia tell us some of his hunting adventures." 
This order was received with a tremendous cheer, and 
Etia was placed in the centre. How eager were the 
eyes and looks of those who knew the story - telling 
gift of their fi'iend Etia, who began thus : " Years ago, 
I remember it as well as if it were but yesterday, I was 
in a great forest at the foot of a high hill, through which 
a little stream was murmuring; the jungle was dense, 
so much so that I could hardly see a few steps ahead of 
me ; I was walking carefully along, very carefully, for I 
was hunting after the gorilla, and I had already met 
with the footprints of a huge one. I looked on the 
right, on the left, and ahead of me, and I wished I had 
had four eyes, that is, two more eyes on the back of my 
head, for I was afraid that a great gorilla might spring 
upon me fi-om behind." 

We all got so impatient to hear the story that we 
shouted all at once, " Go on, Etia, go on. What did you 



20 L OST IN THE JUNOLMI. 

see in the bush ? Tell us quick." But Etia was not to 
be hurried faster than he chose. After a short pause, he 
continued : " I do not know why, but a feeling of fear 
crept over me. I had a presentiment that something 
queer was going to happen. I stood still and looked all 
round me. 

" Suddenly 1 spied a huge python coiled round a tree 
near to a little brook. The serpent was perfectly quiet. 
His huge body was coiled several times round the tree' 
close to the ground, and there he was waiting for ani- 
mals to come and drink. It was the dry season, and 
water was very scarce, and many animals came to that 
spring to drink. I can see, even to this day, its glitter- 
ing eyes. Its color was almost identical with that of 
the bark of the tree. I immediately lay down behind 
another tree, for I had come also in search of game, and 
I could do nothing better than wait for the beasts to 
come there and drink. 

" Ere long I spied a ncheri ^ gazelle' coming ; she 
approached unsuspicious of any danger. Just as she 
was in the act of drinking, the snake sprang upon the 
little beast and coiled himself round it. For a short 
time there was a desperate struggle ; the folds of the 
snake became tighter and tighter round the body of the 
poor animal. I could see how slowly, but how surely 
the snake was squeezing its prey to death. A few 
smothered cries, and all was over ; the animal was dead. 
Then the snake left the tree and began to swallow the 
gazelle, commencing at the head. It crushed the ani- 
mal more and more in its folds. ' I could hear the bones 
crack, and I could see the animal gradually disappearing 
down the throat of the snake." 



ETIA WOUXDED BY A GORILLA. 21 

" Why did you not, Etia, kill the snake at once ?" 
shouted one man, " and then you would have had the 
ncheri for your dinner ?" " Wait," replied Etia. 

"After I had watched the snake for a short time, I 
took my cutlass and cut the big creature tq pieces. That 
night I slept near the spot. I lighted a big iire, cooked 
a piece of the snake for my meal, and went to sleep. 

" The next morning I started eai'ly, and went off to 
hunt. I had not been long in the forest before 1 heard 
a noise ; it was a gorilla. I immediately got my gun 
ready, and moved forward to meet him. I crept through 
the jungle flat on ' my belly,' and soon I could see the 
great beast tearing down the lower branches of a tree 
loaded with fruit. Suddenly he stopped, and I shouted 
to him, ' Kombo (male gorilla), come here ! come here I' 
He turned round and gave a terrific yell or roar, his 
fierce, glaring eyes looked toward me, he raised his big 
long arms as if to lay hold of me, and then advanced. 
We were very near, for I had approached quite close be- 
fore I shouted my defiance to him. 

" When he was almost touching me, I leveled my gun 
— that gun which my father. King Quengueza, had giv- 
en me — that gun for which I have made a fetich, and 
which never misses an animal — then I fired. The big 
beast tottered, and, as it fell, one of his big hands got 
liold of one of my legs ; his big, thick, huge fingers, as 
lie gave his death-gasp, contracted themselves ; I gave a 
great cry of pain, and, seizing my battle-axe, I dealt a 
fearful stroke and broke its arm just above the joint. 
But his fingers and nails had gone deep into my flesh, 
which it lacerated and tore." 

Etia pointed to his leg, and continued : " I have nev- 



22 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

er gotten over it to this day, though it is so long ago that 
very few of you that are here to-night were boifi then. 
I began to bleed and bleed, and feared that the bone of 
my leg was broken. I left the body of the gorilla in 
the woods, but took its head with me, and that head I 
have still in my plantation ; and at times," added Etia, 
"its jaws open during the night, and it roars and says, 
' Etia, why have you killed me V I am sure that gorilla 
had been a man before. That is the reason I am lame 
to this day. I succeeded in reaching my pindi' (planta- 
tion), and my wife took care of me ; but from that day 
I have hated gorillas, and I have vowed that I would 
kill as many of them as I could." 

The story of Etia had the effect of awakening every 
one. They all shouted that Etia is a great hunter, that 
Etia had been bewitched before he started that time, 
and that if it had not been for Etia having a powerful 
monda (fetich), he would have been killed by the go- 
rilla. 

Our story-telling was interrupted by the arrival of ca- 
noes, just built for the fishing of the manga. These ca- 
noes were unlike other canoes ; they were flat-bottomed, 
as flat as a board ; the. sides were straight, and both ends 
were sharp-pointed, and, when loaded with two men, did 
not draw in the water, I am sure, half an inch. They 
glided over the water, causing scarcely a ripple. There 
was no seat, and a man had to paddle standing up, the 
paddle being almost as long as a man. These canoes 
were about twenty-five feet long, and from eighteen to 
twenty inches broad. In them were several queer kinds 
of harpoons, which were to be use$ in capturing the 
mar o^as. 



^^^^m 



CHAPTEE III. 

HARPOONING A MANGA. . A GREAT PRIZE. OUR CA 

CAPSIZED. DESCRIPTION OF THE MANGA. RETURN 

CAMP. 

The next moming, very early, if yon had been on 
banks of the Niembouai, you would have seen me on 
of those long flat-bottomed canoes which I have descr 
to you, and in it you would likewise have seen two 
manga harpoons. 

A man by the name of Ratenou, who had the re] 
tion of being one of the best manga harpooners, ai 
knowing where they were to be found, was with me. 
was covered with fetiches, and had in a pot a large c 
tity of leaves of a certain shrub, which had been ms 
with water and then dried. This mixture, when 
tered on the water, is said to attract the manga. 

When we left the shore, being less of an expert 
Ratenou, and not being able to stand up so easily a 
did, I seated myself at the bottom of the canoe. E 
nou recommended me not to move at all, and while 
paddled I could not even hear the dip of his paddh 
the water, so gently did our boat glide along. 

We crossed the Niembouai to the opposite shore, wh 
we lay by among thfe reeds. By that time the twili; 
had just made its appearance, and you know the twili; 



24 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

is of short duration under the equator ; indeed, there is 
hardly any at all. 

Eatenou threw on the water, not far from where we 
lay in watch, some of the green stuff he had in the pot, 
and we had not waited long before 1 saw, coming along 
the surface of the water, a huge beast, which gave two or 
three puffs and then disappeared. My man watched in- 
tently, and in the mean time moved the canoe toward 
the spot. We came from behind, so that the animal 
could not see us, and, just as the manga came to the sur- 
face of the water once more, and gave three gentle puffs, 
Ratenou sent the harpoon with tremendous force into 
his body. The huge creature, with a furious dash and 
jerk at the line, made for the bottom of the river. Rat- 
enou let the line slip, but held back as much as he dared, 
in ordv. r thus to increase the pain inflicted on the beast. 
The suspense and excitement were great. The ani- 
mal dashed down to the bottom with impetuous haste, 
but the harpoon was fast in him, and held him. We 
watched the rope going out with the utmost anxiety. 
The harpoon has hardly struck the manga when our ca- 
noe goes with fearful rapidity. The native's rope proved 
too short ; there was not enough of it to let it go. Every 
jnoment I fully expected to upset, and did not relish the 
idea at all. Finally the rope slackened ; the manga was 
getting exhausted. At last no strain was observable; 
the beast was dead. Without apparently much effort, 
the line was hauled in, and presently I saw the huge 
beast alongside the canoe. 

" Let us upset the canoe," said Ratenou. 

"what!" said I. 
-et ufi upset the canoe." The good fellow, who was 



THE MANGA. 



25 



not overloaded with clothes, thought that to be an easy 
task ; but I did not look at the proposal quite in the same 
light ; so I said, " Eatenou, let us paddle the canoe to the 
shore, and I will get out." It was hardly said before it 
was done. I landed, and then the huge manga was tied 
to the canoe, the latter was capsized over its back, and 
tlien we turned it over again. 

This was a big prize, for there is no meat so much 
thought of among the savages as that of the manga. We 
immediately made for the camp, and were received with 
uproarious cheers. 

The canoe was upset once more, and the big fresh- 
water monster was dragged ashore. It was hard work, 
for the huge beast must have weighed from fifteen to 
eighteen hundred pounds. 




THE MAKOA. 



What a queer-looking thing it was ! The manga is a 
new species of manatee. Its body is of a dark lead-col- 
or ; the skin is veiy thick and smooth, and covered in all 
parts with single bristly hairs, from haH an inch to an 

B 



26 L OST IN THE JUNQLK 

inch in length ; but the hairs are at a distance from each 
other, so that the skin appears almost smooth. The eyes 
are small — very small ; it has a queer-looking head, the 
upper and lower parts of the lips having very hard and 
bristly hair. 

The manga is unlike the whale in this, that it has two 
paddles, which are used as hands ; and, when the flesh or 
skin is removed, the skeleton of the paddles looks very 
much like the bony frame of a hand. I have named this 
curious species after my most esteemed friend, Professor 
Owen, of London, Manatus Oweni. 

The skin of the manga, when dried, is of a most beau- 
tiful amber color ; the nearer the middle of the back, the 
more beautiful and intense the yellow. The skin is 
there more than one inch in thickness. When fresh it 
has a milky color, but when it dries, and the water goes 
off, it turns yellow. That part of the back is carefully 
cut in strips by the natives, who make whips with it, 
just in the same way as they do with the hippopotamus 
hide, and these whips are used extensively on the backs 
of their wives. 

The large, broad tail, which is shown in the engraving, 
is used by them as a rudder, while their hands are used 
as paddles. These hands, unlike those of seals, have no 
claws or nails. This manga was eleven feet long, and 
the body looked quite huge. 

Mangas feed entirely on grass and the leaves of trees, 
the branches of which fall into the water; they feed, 
also, on the grass found at the bottom of the rivers. 

In looking at such curious shaped things, I could not 
help thinking what queer animals were found on our 
globe. 



HO W TEE MANGAS EA T LEA VES. 2 7 

The doctor was greatly rejoiced at our success. Then 
came the ceremony of cutting up the beast ; but, before 
commencing, Ratenon, the manga doctor, went through 
some ceremony round the carcase which he 'did not want 
any one to see. After a little he begaji to cut up the 
meat. 

It was very fat ; on the stomach the fat must have been 
about two inches thick. The lean meat was white^ with 
a reddish tinge, and looked very nice. It is delicious, 
something like pork, but finer grained and of sweeter 
flavor. It must be smoked for a few days in order to 
have it in perfection. 

We cut the body into pieces of about half a pound 
each, and put them on the oralas and smoked Master 
Manga. The fragrance filled our camp. 

The manga belongs to the small but singular group 
of animals classed as Sieenia. 

I have often watched these matiga feeding on the 
leaves of trees, the branches of which hung close to the 
water. The manga's head only shows above the water. 
When thus seen, the manga bears a curious resemblance 
to a human being. They never go ashore, and do not 
crawl even partly out of the water. They must some- 
times weigh as much as two to three thousand pounds. 




CHAPTER lY. 

WE GO INTO THE FOEEST. HUNT FOE EBONY-TEEES. — THE 

FISH-EAGLES. CAPTUEE OF A YOUNG EAGLE. — IMPEND- 
ING FIGHT WITH THEM. FEAEFUL EOAES OF GOEILLAS. 

GOEILLAS BEEAXING DOWN TEEES, 

Seveeal weeks have passed since we left the Mem- 
bouai. I have been alone with my three great hunt- 
ers, Qnerlaouen, Gambo, and Malaouen. We are sworn 
friends ; we have resolved to live in the woods and to 
wander through them. Several times since we left our 
manga-fishing we have been " lost in the jungle." 

We have had some very hard times, but splendid hunt- 
ing ; and on the evening of that day of which I speak, we 
were quietly seated somewhere near the left bank of the 
E-iver Ovenga, by the side of a bright fire, and, at the 
same time my men enjoyed their smoke, we talked over 
the future prospects of our life in the forest. 

That evening I said, " Boys, let us go into the forest 
and look for ebony-trees ; I want to find them ; I must 
take some of that wopd with me when 'I go back to the 
land of ^ the spirits.' " Maloueii, Gambo, and Querlaou- 
en shouted at once, " Let us go in search of the ebony- 
tree ; let us choose a spot where we shall be able to find 
game." For I must tell you that good eating was one 
of the weak points of my three friends. 
j The ebony-tree is scattered through the forest in clus- 



BOW AN EBONY- TREE L OKS. 2 9 

ters. It is one of the finest and most graceful among 
the many lovely trees that adorn the African forest. Its 
leaves are long, sharp-pointed, and of a dark green col- 
or. Its bark is smooth, and also a dark green. The 
trunk rises straight as an arrow. Queer to say, the eb- 
ony-tree, when old, becomes hollow, and even some of its 
branches are hollow. Next to the bark is a white " sap- 
wood." Generally that sap-wood is three or four inches 
thick ; so, unless one knows the tree by the bark, the first 
few blows of an axe would not reveal to him the dark, 
black wood found inside. Young ebony-trees of two 
feet diameter are often perfectly white ; then, as the tree 
grows bigger, the black part is streaked with the white, 
and as the tree matures, the black predominates, and 
eventually takes the place of the white. The wood of 
the ebony -tree is very hard; the grain short and very 
brittle. 

Yon can see that it is no slight work to cut down such 
big trees with the small axes we had, such as represent- 
ed in the accompanying drawing. I show you, also, the 




30 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

drawing of a mpano, which is the instrument used in 
hollowing out the trunks of trees to make canoes. 

After wandering for some hours we found several ebo- 
ny-trees. How beautiful they were, and how graceful 
was the shape of their sharp-pointed leaves ! These trees 
were not very far from the river, or I should rather say 
from a creek which fell into the Ovenga River, so that 
it would not be difficult to carry our ebony logs to the 
banks and there load them on canoes. 

We immediately went to work and built a nice camp. 
We had with us two boys, Njali and Nola, who had been 
sent with a canoe laden with provisions from one of 
Querlaouen's plantations, and which his wife had for- 
warded to us. Some bunches of plantains were of enor- 
mous size. There were two bunches of bananas for me, 
and sundry baskets of cassava and peanuts. There was 
also a little parcel of dried fish, which Querlaouen's wife 
had sent specially to her friend Chally. 

We set to work, and soon succeeded in felling two 
ebony-trees. We arranged to go hunting in the morn- 
ing, and cut the wood into billets in the afternoon. As 
we were not in a hurry, and it was rather hard work, we 
determined to take our time. 

By the side of our camp we had a beautiful little 
stream, where we obtained our drinking water, and a lit- 
tle below that spot there was a charming place where we 
could take a bath. 

Not far from our camp there was a creek called Eliva 
Mono (the Mullet's Creek), so named on account ©f the 
great number of mullets which at a certain season of the 
year come there to spawn. Besides the mono, the creek 
contained great numbers of a fish called condo. Large 
and tall trees grew on the banks of the creek. 



A RESORT FOR FISH-EAGLES. 



31 




FELLING EB0NY-TEEE8. 



This creek was at that time of the year a resort for the 
large fish-eagles. These birds could look down from 
the tops of the high trees, on which they perched, upon 
the water below, and watch for their finny prey. 

The waters of the creek were so quiet that half the 
time not a ripple could be seen on them. High up on 



3 2 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

some of the trees could be seen the nests belonging to 
these birds of prey. 

There were several eagles,. and they belonged to two 
different species. One was called by the natives coun- 
gou^ and was known all over the country, for it is found 
as far as the sea. Its body was white, and of the size of 
a fowl, and it had black wings, the spread of which was 
very great, and the birds were armed with thick and 
strong talons. The females were of a gray color. 

Another eagle was also found on the creek. It was a 
larger bird, of dark color, and called by the natives the 
compagnondo {Tej>Jirodornis ocreatus). The shrill cries 
of this bird could be heard at a great distance, sounding 
strangely in the midst of the great solitude. Both these 
eagles feed on fish, and two of the coungous had their 
nest on the top of a very high tree, and in that nest there 
were young ones. The nest was built, like most of the 
fish-eagles' nests, with sticks of trees, and occupied a 
space of several feet in diameter. When once the nest 
is built it is occupied a good number of years in succes- 
sion. It is generally placed between the forks of the 
branches, and can be seen at a great distance. Each 
year the nest requires repairs, which both -the male and 
female birds attend to. These coungous seemed very 
much attached to each other^ After one of a pair had 
been shot, I would hear the solitary one calling for its 
mate, and it would remain day after day near the spot, 
and at last would either take another mate or fly off to 
another country. When a pair of coungous, male arid 
female, were killed, then the next year another couple 
would take possession of their nest. 

I often watched the coungous' nest. They were al- 



CAPTURE OF A YOUNG EAGLE. 33 

ways on the look-out for fish. Now and then they would 
dive and seize a fine mullet, which they would carry up 
to their young and feed them. How quick they were in 
their motion ! Sometimes one w^ould catch a fish so big 
and heavy that it seemed hardly strong enough to rise in 
the air with it. The natives say that sometimes the ea- 
gles are carried under the water when they Jiave caught 
a fish too big for their strength, and fi-om whose body 
they can not extricate their firmly-fixed talons before the 
fish dives to the bottom. 

When the old birds approached the nest with food the 
young ones became very noisy, evincing their impatience 
for the treat of fresh fish, with which the parents some- 
times hovered over the nest as if desirous of tantalizing 
their appetite. 

One day I took it into my head to have the tree cut 
do"um, so that I could examine the nest. The old birds 
were greatly excited, for they saw that something was 
wrong. At last the tree fell with a great crash. I im- 
mediately made for the nest, and I can not tell you what 
a stench arose from it ; it was fearful. Remnants of de- 
cayed fish and many other kinds of offal made a smell 
which it was surprising the young eagles could endure. 
In the mean time the young ones had tumbled out of 
the nest, and while we were looking for them, and just 
after I had captured one, the parents came swooping 
down. Goodness ! I thought I was going to be attacked 
by them, for they hovered round, sometimes coming quite 
close to me ; once or t\\dce I thought my hat at least 
would be carried off. Becoming worried, I raised my 
gun and fired, and killed the male ; then the female got 
frightened and flew away. The young were covered 

B2 



34 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

with gray down, Tliey must certainly possess very lim- 
ited powers of smell, for I can not see how any living 
thing could exist in the midst of such odors. 

On one of my excursions up the creek I discovered 
another coungou nest, and, as it was not built in a very 
high tree, I determined to examine its economy. So, 
with pretty hard work, I climbed up another tree, from 
whence, with the aid of my field-telescope, I could watch 
all that went on in the nest, which contained two young 
eagles. During the first few days the old birds would 
feed their young by tearing the flesh of the fish with 
their beaks, while their talons held it fast. "When the 
coungous are young, the male and female have the same 
gray plumage, which in the male turns white and black 
when old. 

One fine afternoon I left the camp all alone, Gambo, 
Malaouen, and Querlaouen being fast asleep. Before I 
knew it, F found myself far away, for I had been think- 
ing of home and of friends, and, walking in a good hunt- 
ing path, I had gone farther than I thought, and time 
had fled pleasantly. I carried on my shoulder a double- 
barrel, smootli-bore gun, intending to take a short walk 
in the woods. When I looked at my watch, it was 2 
o'clock ! I had be^n gone three hours. Just as I was 
ready to turn back, I thought I heard distant thunder. 
I listened attentively, and I perceived that the noise was 
not thunder, but the terrific roar of a gorilla at some 
distance. Though it was getting late, I thought I would 
go in that direction ; so I took out the small shot with 
which one of the barrels of my gun was loaded, and put 
in a heavy bullet instead. My revolvers were in the 
belt round my waist, and had been loaded that Yery 



A MAN GORILLA AND HIS WIFK 35 

morning. As I approached the spot where the beast 
was, the more awful sounded the roar, till at last the 
whole forest re-echoed with the din, and appeared to 
shake with the tremendous voice of the animal. It was 
awful ; it was appalling to hear. What lungs the mon- 
ster had, to enable him to emit so deep and awe-inspir- 
ing a noise. The other inhabitants of the forest seemed 
to be silent ; the few birds that were in it had stopped 
their warbling. Suddenly I heard a crash — two crashes. 
The animal was in the act of breaking the limbs of 
trees. Then the noise of the breaking of trees ceased, 
and the roar of the monster recommenced. This time 
it was answered by a weaker roar. The echoes swelled 
and died away from hill to hill, and the whole forest was 
filled with the din. The man gorilla and his wife were 
talking together : they no doubt understood each other, 
but I could not hear any articulate sound. I stopped 
and examined my gun. Just as I got ready to enter the 
jungle from the hunting-path to go after the male go- 
rilla, the roaring ceased. I waited for its renewal, but 
the silence of the forest was no more to be disturbed 
that day. 

After waiting half an hour I hurried back toward the 
camp. I walked as fast as I could, for I was afraid that 
darkness would overtake me. Six o'clock found me in 
the woods ; the sun had just set, and the short twilight 
of the equator which followed the setting of the sun 
warned me to hurry faster than ever if I wanted to reach 
the camp. Hark ! I hear voices. Wliat can these voices 
be, those of friends or enemies? I moved from the 
hunting-path and ascended an adjacent tree, but soon I 
heard voices that I recognized as those of Malaouen and 



36 L OST IJSr THE JUNGLE. 

Querlaouen shouting "Moguizi, where are you? Mo- 
guizi, where are you ?" I responded " I am coming ! I 
am coming !" and soon after they gave a tremendous 
hurrah ; we had met. 

We soon reached the camp, and I rested my weary 
limbs by the side of a blazing fire and dried my clothes, 
which were quite wet, for I had crossed several little 
streams. 




CHAPTER Y. 

LOST. QUERLAOUEN SAYS WE ARE BE^VITCHED. MONKEYS 

AND PARROTS. A DESERTED VILLAGE. STRANGE SCENE 

BEFORE AN IDOL. BRINGING IN THE WOUNDED. AN IN- 

VOCA-nON. 

We soon after left the left bank of the Ovenga and 
crossed over to the other side, but not before having 
carefully stored under shelter the billets of ebony-wood 
we had taken so much pains to cut, and which I wanted 
to take home with me. 

The country where we now were was very wild, and 
seemed entu-ely uninhabited. At any rate, we did not 
know of any people or village for miles round. 

After wandering for many, many days throngh the 
forest, we came suddenly on a path. Immediately Quer- 
laouen, Gambo, Malaouen, and I held a great council, 
and, in order not to be heard in case some one might 
pass, we went back half a mile farther from the path in 
the forest. Then we seated ourselves, and began to 
speak in a low voice. 

Querlaouen spoke first, and said that he did not know 
the country, and could not tell what we had better do, 
except that every one should have his gun ready, and his 
powder and bullets handy, his eyes wide open, and his 
ears ready to catch even the sound of a falling leaf or 
the footsteps of a gazelle. 



38 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

Gambo said Querlaouen was right. 

Then Malouen rose and said : " For days . we have 
been in these woods, and we have seen no living being, 
no path ; we have fed on wild honey, on berries, nuts, 
and fruits, and to-day we have at last come upon a path. 
We know that the path has been made by some people 
or other. It is true we know that we are in the Ashan- 
kolo Mountains ; that the tribe of Bakalai, living there, 
are a fighting people ; but," he said, " he thought it was 
better to go back and follow the path until we came to 
the place where the people lived." 

Querlaouen got up and said : " We have been lost in 
this forest, and, though we look all round us, there is not 
a tree we recognize ; the little streams we pass we know 
not. The ant-hills we have seen are not the same as 
tliose in our own country. The large stones are not of 
the shape of the stones we are accustomed to look upon. 
We must have been bewitched before we left the vil- 
lage." 

This suggestion of friend Querlaouen was received 
by a cheer from my two other fellows, I being the only 
one that did not believe in what he said. 

" For," continued he, " this has never happened to us 
before. Yes, somebody wants to bewitch us." 

While he thus talked, his gentle and amiable face as- 
sumed a fierce expression, and the other two said "Yes, 
somebody wants to bewitch us ; but he had better look 
out, for surely he will die." 

At last I said, "Let us get back to the path, and 
follow it; perhaps we will meet some strange adven- 
ture." 

Just as we rose to move on we heard the chatter of 



PARROTS AND MONKEYS QUARRELING. 39 

monkeys, and we made for the spot whence the sound 
proceeded, in the hope that we might kill one or two. 
Carefully we went through tlie jungle, the prospect of 
killing a monkey filling our hearts with joy ; for we could 
already, in anticipation, see a bright fire blazing, and 
some part of a monkey boiling in the little iron pot we 
carried with us ; for myself, I imagined a nice piece 
roasting on a bright charcoal fire. 

At last we came to the foot of a very high tree, and, 
raising our heads, we could see several monkeys. The 
tree was so tremendously high that the monkeys hardly 
appeared larger than squirrels. How could our small 
shot reach the top of that tree, which was covered with 
red berries, upon which the monkeys were quietly feed- 
ing ? Although we could not reach them, they were not 
to be left in undisturbed possession, for a large flock of 
gray parrots, with red tails, flew round and round the 
tree, screeching angry defiance at the monkeys, who had 
at first been hidden by the thick leaves. The monkeys 
screamed back fierce menaces, running out on the slen- 
der branches in vain endeavor to catch their feathered 
opponents, who would fiy off, only to return with still 
more angry cries. Both parrots and monkeys being out 
of reach of our guns, we were obliged to leave them to 
settle the right of possession to the rich red fruit. 

How weary we were when we struck the path again ! 
and, having first passed a field of plantain-trees, we at 
last arrived at a village. 

Kot a living creature was to be seen in it. IN'ot even 
a goat, a fowl, or a dog, although we found several fires 
smouldering, from which the smoke still ascended. We 
proceeded carefully, for we did not know what kind of 



40 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

people inhabited this village. But I said, " Boys, let us 
go straight through the place." 

So we went on until we came to an ouandja (a build- 
ing), where, in a dark corner of a room, stood a huge 
image of an idol. Oh ! how ugly it was. It represent- 
ed a woman with a wide-open mouth, through which 
protruded a long, sharp-pointed iron tongue. 

At the foot of the idol we found the skulls of all 
kinds of animals, elephants, leopards, hyenas, monkeys, 
and squirrels — even of crocodiles ; and skins of snakes, 
intermingled with bunches of dry, queer-looking leaves, 
the ashes of burnt bones, and the shells of huge land 
turtles. 

How horribly strange the big idol looked in the cor- 
ner ! It made me shudder. 

The village was deserted, darkness was coming on, 
and the question now was, What were we going to do ? 
Should we sleep in that forlorn-looking village or not ? 
If we staid there the villagers might return when we 
were asleep. 

For some time we regarded each other in silence ; 
then I said, " Boys, I think we had better sleep in the 
forest, away from the path, but not far from the village." 
Gambo, Malouen, and Querlaouen shouted with one 
voice, " That is so. Let us sleep in the forest, for this 
village seems to us full of aniemba (witchcraft)." 

So we returned to the jungle, and collected large 
leaves to be used for roofing a hut which was quickly 
built with limbs from dead trees that lay scattered about, 
yielding also a plentiful supply of wood for a rousing 
fire. When every thing was ready, I pulled my match- 
box from my bag and lighted our fire. 



A TERRIFIC STORM. - 4i 

Night came, and all life seemed to go to rest. Now 
and then I could hear the cry of some wild night ani- 
mal, which had left his lair in search of prey, and was 
calling for its mate. 

Before midnight we were aroused by the muttering 
of distant thunder; a tornado was coming. The trees 
began to shake violently, the wind became terrific ; soon 
we heard the branches of trees breaking ; then the trees 
themselves began to fall, and with such a crash as to 
alarm us greatly. Suddenly, not far from our hut, one 
of the big giant trees of the forest came down with a 
fearful noise, and crushing in its mighty fall dozens of 
other trees, one of them adjoining our camp. We got 
up in the tmnkle of an eye, frightened out of our wits, 
for we fancied the whole forest was going to tumble 
doT\Ti. The monkeys chattered ; a terrific roar from a 
gorilla resounded thi'ough the forest, mingling with the 
howls of hyenas. Snakes, no doubt, were crawling 
about. Immediately after the falling of the great tree 
near us we heard a novel and tremendous noise in the 
jungle, coming fi'om a herd of elephants fleeing in dis- 
may, and breaking down every thing in their path. 

" Goodness gracious !" I shouted, in English, " what 
does all this mean ? Are we going to be buried alive 
in the forest?" The words were scarcely out of my 
mouth when there canie a blinding flash of lightning, 
instantaneously followed by a peal of thunder like a vol- 
ley from a himdred cannon, that seemed to shake the 
very earth to its foundation ; and then the rain fell in 
torrents, and soon deluged the ground. Happily, we 
knew what we were about when we built our fires, for 
we had started them on the top of large logs of wood, so 



42 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

arranged that it would have required more than a foot 
of water on the ground before it could reach the fires 
and extinguish them. Then our leaves were so broad 
and nicely arranged that they entirely protected us from 
the storm, and our shelter was perfected by the branch- 
es of the great tree which, in falling, had apparently 
threatened our destruction. 

The terrible hubbub lasted some hours, the continued 
lightning and thunder preventing sleep ; but toward 4 
o'clock in the morning the storm ceased, and all again 
became quiet ; only the dripping of the water from the 
leaves conld be heard ; then we went to sleep, but not 
before having arranged our fires in such a manner that 
we could go to rest in comparative safety. 

In the early morning, before dawn, and while we 
were only half awake, I thought I heard the sound of a 
human voice. Listen I "We all listened attentively, and 
Gambo laid down with his ears to the ground, and then 
he declared that he distinctly heard voices in the direc- 
tion of the village. There was no doubt — the people 
had returned. ^ 

" Let us go," said I, " and find out what kind of neigh- 
bors thele are. We have our guns and plenty of am- 
munition, so we need not fear them ; but let us act with 
caution." 

This was agreed to. So, leaving our camp, we quietly 
crept near the village, until we gained a spot from 
whence we could see all that was going on. Men with 
lighted torches were entering the village, and four of 
them bore what, to all appearances, was a dead body, 
which they deposited before the huge idol, now moved 
out into the open street. The gleam of the torches re- 




BBIISGING IN TUE WOUNDED, 



44 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

vealed to us that this prostrate body had been pierced 
by many spears, part of which still remained in it. 

Every man was armed to the teeth, but not a w^oman 
was visible. The scene was strange and w^ild. ]^ot a 
word was uttered after the body of the wounded man 
had been laid on the ground. How strange and wild 
the men looked by the lurid glare of their torches! 
Their bodies were painted and covered with fetiches. 
Just back of the huts stood the tall trees, wdiose branches 
moved to and fro in the wind. I could hear its whis- 
pers as it passed through the foliage of the trees. The 
stars were shining beautifull}^, and a few fleecy white 
clouds were floating above our heads. I wish you could 
have seen us as we lay flat on the ground. Our eyes 
must have been bright indeed as we looked on the wild 
scene ; and this I know, that our hearts were beating 
strongly as we lay close together. If, perchance, one of 
us had been seized with a fit of siieezing, or a fit of 
coughing, it might have been the end of iis, for the sav- 
ages would have been alarmed, and, believing us to be 
enemies, w^ould at once have attacked us ; so w^e had 
started on a rather risky business. I had never thought 
of it before ; it was always so w^ith me at that time. I 
thought of the danger after I w^as in it. \ 

Soon another batch of men made their appearance, 
carrying another wounded man, w^ho appeared almost 
dead, and they laid him by the side of tlie other, and 
then the women came in, carrying their babies and lead- 
ing their children. 

There stood the huge idol looking grimly at the scene. 
How ugly it seemed, with its copper eyes and wide-open 
mouth, which showed two rows of sharp-pointed teeth ! 



INVOKING MBUITL 45 

In one of its hands it held a sharp-pointed knife, and in 
the other it held a bearded spear. It had a necklace of 
leopards' teeth, and its hideous head was decorated with 
birds' feathers. One side of its face was painted yellow, 
the other white ; the forehead was painted red, and a 
black stripe did duty for eyebrows. I could not make 
out whether it represented a male or a female. 

By its side stood the people, as silent as the idol itself. 

At last a man came in front of the idol, and at once, 
by the language he spoke in, we knew him to be a Ba- 
kalai. 

" Mbuiti," he said, addressing the idol, " we have been 
to the war, and now we have returned. There lie before 
thee two of our number; look at them. You see the 
spear -wounds that have gone into their bodies. They 
can not tailk. When they were strong they went to the 
jungle and shot game, and when they had killed it they 
always brought some to give thee ; many times they have 
brought to thee antelopes, wild boars, and other wild 
beasts. They have brought thee sngar-cane, ground-nuts, 
plant^ns, and bananas ; they have given thee palm wine 
to drink. Oh, Mbuiti, do thou heal them !" And all the 
people shouted " Do make them well." How queer their 
voices resounded in the forest ! 

Suddenly, all the torches were extinguished, and the 
village was again in darkness. Not a voice was heard ; 
complete silence followed. They were evidently afraid 
of an attack, and retired quietly to their huts. 

I was very glad that we had managed to see all this 
without having been discovered ; we did not think it 
safe, however, to move away before giving the villagers 
time to fall asleep, and then we realized new causes for 



46 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

apprehension. It was not a very pleasant or safe thing 
to be out in this jungle in the early morning before it was 
light. We might tread on a snake, or lay hold of one 
folded among the lower branches of the trees on which 
we laid our hands; or a wandering leopard might be 
prowling round ; and, as there certainly were gorillas in 
the neighborhood, we might come on a tree which a fe- 
male gorilla with a baby had climbed into for the night, 
and then we should have the old fellow upon us showing 
fight. I confess I did not care to fight gorillas in the 
dark. Again, a party of Bashikouay might be encoun- 
tered, when nothing wOuld be left for us but flight. 

After our breakfast of nuts and berries, the question 
naturally arose, Shall we go back to the strange village ? 
" Certainly not," at once said Querlaouen ; " we do not 
know what kind of Bakalai they are." 

When my turn to speak came, I said, " Boys, why not 
go and learn from these people the causes which led to 
their affray, and at the same time learn exactly in what 
part of the forest we are ?" 

For about a minute we were all silent. My three sav- 
ages wei*e thinking about my proposal; then Malaouen 
said, " Chaillie, we had better not go. Who knows ? it 
may be that the wounded men we saw the people bring- 
ing into the village were found speared in the path, and, 
if so, we might be suspected of being the men who 
speared them. Then," said he, "what a palaver we 
should get in ! and there would be no other way for us 
to get out of our troubles except by fighting. You know 
that the Bakalai here fight well." We all gave our as- 
sent to Malaouen's wise talk, for I must tell you, boys, 
my three men had good common sense, and many a time 



PHEPAIiiya TO HUNT. 



47 



have I listened to their counsels. "Besides, we have a 
good deal of hunting to do," said Malaouen, "and avo 
had better attend to it." 

" Yes," we all said, with one voice. "Let us attend to 
our hunting. Let us have a jolly good time in the woods, 
and kill as many gorillas, elephants, leopards, antelopes, 
wild boars, and other wild beasts as we can." It being 
settled we should not go back to the village, wx all got 
up, looked at our guns carefully, and plunged into the 
woods once more. 

If you could have seen us, you would have said. What 
wild kind of chaps these four fellows are 1 Indeed we 
did look wild. We did not mind it; our hearts were 
bound together, we were such great friends. I am sure 
man}' of you who read these pages would have been our 
friends also, if you had been there. 




CHAPTEE YI. 

A WHITE GOEILLA. MEETING TWO GORILLAS. THE FEMALE 

EUNS AWAY. THP: MAN GOEILLA SHOWS FIGHT. HE IS 

KILLED. HIS IMMENSE HANDS AND FEET. STEANGE STO- 

EY OF A LEOPAED AND A TUETLE. 

SoiME time has elapsed since that strange night-scene 
I have described to you in the preceding chapter. We 
had gone, as you are aware, into the woods hunting for 
wild game. All I can say is, that I wish some of you 
had been witli us. We had a glorious time ! lots of fun, 
and cleared that part of the forest of the few wild beasts 
that were in it : one elephant, one gorilla, three ante- 
lopes, two wild boars were killed, besides smaller game, 
and some queer-looking birds. Once or twice we had 
pretty narrow escapes. 

I wish you had been with us to enjoy the thunder and 
lightning. It would have given you an idea of the noise 
the thunder can make, and the brightness a flasli of 
lightning can attain ; how heavy the rain can fall ; and 
a tornado would liave shown you how strong the wind 
can blow. For the thunder we hear and the rains that 
fall at home can not give us any conception of what 
takes place in the mountainous and woody regions of 
Equatorial Africa. After all, there is some enjoyment 
in being " lost in the jungle" in the country in which I 
have taken you to travel with me. 



\ 

/ A WHITE GORILLA. . 49 

Once more I am in sight of the Ovenga. For some 
time the people inhabiting the banks of that river had 
whispered among themselves that a white gorilla had 
been seen. At first the story of a white gorilla was be- 
lieved in by only a few, but at last the white gorilla's 
appearance was the talk of every body. Gambo, Quer- 
laouen, and Malaouen were firm believers in it. 

Both men and women would come back to their vih 
lages and assure the people that they had had a glimpse 
of the creature. Pie looked so old he could hardly walk. 
His hair was perfectly white, and he was terribly wrink- 
led. He must have lived forever in the forest, and was, 
no doubt, the great-grandfather of hundreds of gorillas. 
His wife must have died long ago. He was a monster 
in size. Then old men said they remembered, when 
they were boys, that a man disappeared from the village ; 
perhaps he had been caught by that very gorilla. 

" How is it," said I to the people, " that I have never 
seer a white gorilla ?" They would answer, " There are 
white-headed men, so there are white-haired gorillas. 
A white gorilla is not often to be seen, for when he be- 
comes so old that he turns white, he lives quite alone, 
and in a part of the forest where people can not go, for 
the jungle is too thick there. He seems to be too know- 
ing, and keeps out of the way of the hunting-path." 
" Of course," they would add, " its skin remains black." 

Day after day we went through the forest to see if we 
could get a glimpse of the white gorilla. We had been 
a whole week in quest of the white gorilla, never camp- 
ing twice in the same spot ; often Malaouen and Quer- 
laouen declared that they would go and hunt alone, 
while Gambo and I, v^dth a boy we had with us, should 

C 



50 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

choose our own course, always appointing a certain place 
near a hunting-path where we could all meet at sunset. 

On the last day of the week, we had been on the hunt 
for several hours, when we came upon tolerably fresh 
tracks of a gorilla; judging by the immense footprints 
he had left on the ground, he must be a monster — a tre- 
mendous big fellow. Was he a white gorilla or not? 
These tracks we followed cautiously, and at last, in a 
densely-wooded and quite dark ravine, we came sudden- 
ly upon two gorillas, a male and a female. The old man 
gorilla was by the side of his wife, fondly regarding her. 
They had no baby. How dark and horrid their intense- 
ly black faces appeared I I watched them for a few min- 
utes, for, thanks to the dense jungle in w^hich we were 
concealed, I was not perceived at once. But, on a sud- 
den, the female uttered a cry of alarms, and ran off be- 
fore wx could get a shot at her, being lost to sight in a 
moment. We were not in a hurry to fire at her. Of 
course the male must be killed first ; it is ten times safer 
to get him out of the way. 

The male had no idea of running off. As soon as the 
female disappeared, he gazed all round with his savage- 
looking eyes. He then rose slowly from his haunches, 
and at once faced us, uttering a roar of rage at our evi- 
dently untimely intrusion, coming as we had to disturb 
him and frighten his wife, when they were quietly seat- 
ed side by side. Gambo and I were accompanied by the 
boy, who carried our provisions and an extra gun, a 
double-barrel smooth bore. The boy fell to the rear of 
us, and we stood side by side and awaited the advance 
of the hideous monster. In the dim half-light of the 
ravino, his features working with rage ; his glootny, 



THE GORILLA ATTACKS. 51 

treacherous, mischievous gray eyes ; his rapidly-agitated 
and frightful, satyr-like face, had a horrid look, enough 
to make one fancy him really a spirit of the damned, a 
Tery devil. How his hair moved up and down on the 
top of his head. 

He advanced upon us by starts, as it is their fashion — 
as I have told you in my other books — pausing to beat 
his fists upon his vast breast, which gave out a dull, hol- 
low sound, like some great base-drum with a skin of ox- 
hide. Then, showing his enormous teeth at the same 
time, he made the forest ring with his short, tremendous, 
powerful bark, w^hich he followed by a roar, the refrain 
of which is singularly like the loud muttering of thun- 
der. The earth really shook under our feet — the Jioise 
was frightful. I have heard lions' roars, but certainly 
tlie lion's roar can not be compared with that of the go- 
rilla. 

We stood our ground for at least three long minutes 
• — at least it seemed so to me — the guns in our hands, 
before the great beast was near enough f^r a safe shot. 
During this time I could not help thinking that I had 
heard that a man had been killed only a few days be- 
fore ; and, as I looked at the gorilla in front of me, I 
thought that if I missed the beast, I would be killed 
also. So I said to myself, " Be careful, friend Paul, for 
if you miss the fellow, he won't miss you." I realized 
the horror of a poor fellow when, with empty gun, he 
stands before his remorseless enemy, who, not with a 
sudden spring like the leopard, but mth a slow, vindic- 
tive look, comes to put him to death. 

At last he stood before us at a distance of six yards. 
Once more he paused, and Gambo and I raised our guns 



52 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

as he again began to roar and beat his chest, and jnst as 
he took another step forward, we fired, and down he 
tumbled, almost at our feet, upon his face — dead. But 
, he was not the ^uhite gorilla. 

How glad I was. I saw at once that we had killed 
the very animal I wanted. His height was five feet nine 
inches, measured to the tip of the toes. His arms spread 
nine feet. His chest had a circumference of sixty-two 
inches. His arms were of most prodigious muscular 
strength. His hands, those terrible, claw-like weapons, 
almost like a man's, having the same shaped nails, and 
with one blow of which he can tear out the bowels of a 
man and break his ribs or arms, were of immense size. 
I could understand how terrible a blow could be struck 
wdth such a hand, moved by such an arm, all swollen 
into great bunches of muscular fibres. 

"When I took hold of his hands, I shall not say in 
mine, for his were so large that my hands looked like 
those of a baby by the side of his. How cold his hands 
were, how callous, how thick and black the nails, as 
black as his face and skin. What a huge foot he pos- 
sessed ! Where is the giant that could show such pro- 
digious feet ? 

We disemboweled the monster on the spot. Malouen 
and Querlaouen, who had heard our guns, joined us, and 
we built a camp close by. My three fellows were very 
fond of gorilla's meat, and they had a great treat. The 
brain was carefully saved by them. 

In the evening Gambo told us some stories, one of 
which, the last one, I will relate to you. It relates to 
the leopard, and goes to prove that this ferocious animal 
has no friend. • ■ 



# 



THE LEOPARD AND THE TURTLE. 53 

THE LEGEND OF CONIAMBI]^. 

Coniambie was a king, who made an orambo (a trap) 
in which a ncheri (gazelle) was caught. After it had 
been caught, it cried and called for its companion ; then 
a ngivo (another gazelle) was caught. The ngivo cried, 
and a wild boar came and was caught; then an ante- 
lope came, and was caught; afterward a bongo and a 
buffalo came, and all were caught, and all of them died 
in the trap. At that time Coniambie was in the moun- 
tains. A leopard was caught also, but did not die. Then 
came a turtle, who released the leopard from the trap. 
Then the leopard wanted to kill the turtle which had 
saved him. The leopard got hold of the turtle to kill it, 
but the tm'tle, seeing this, drew her head, legs, and tail 
inside her shell, but not before she had managed to get 
into the hollow of an old tree, with the leopard after her 
in the hollow, and he could not get away. The tree is 
called ogana, and bears a berry on which monkeys are 
fond of feeding. So there came to the tree at this time, 
for the purpose of feeding, a miengai, or white-mustach- 
ed monkey ; a ndova, the white-nosed monkey ; a nkago, 
the red-headed monkey ; an oganagana, a blackish mon- 
key ; a mondi, which has veiy long black hair ; a nchegai 
and a pondi, who all came to eat the berries. When 
the leopard heard the noise of the monkeys, he shouted, 
" Monkeys, come and release me !" Then they came 
and helped the leopard out of the hole. But the leop- 
ard, instead of being grateful, fought with the monkeys, 
and ate the nkago and the ndova. Then the monkey 
called a mpondi said, " Mai ! onai ! That is so ; that is 
so ! You leopards are noted rogues. The leopard and 
'^he goat do not live together at the same place. AVe 



54 I^ OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

caiAp to help you, and, as soon as you were helped, you 
began to kill us. Mai ! mai ! you are a rogue." 

Moral. 

The reason why the leopard wanders solitary and alone 
is on account of his roguery; he is not to be trusted. 
There are men who can not be trusted any more than 
the leopard. 

We shouted with one voice, " That is so ; there are 
men who can not be any more trusted than the leopard, 
for they are so treacherous and deceitful." 

Then we canvassed the bad qualities of the leopard, 
and concluded that he had not a single friend in the 
forest. 

After this story was concluded we gave another look 
to our fires, and then went to sleep. This was the way, 
Yotmg Folks, we spent many of our evenings when we 
were not too tired traveling in the great forest. 




CHAPTER YII. 

RETURN TO THE OTENGA RR^ER. THE MOKKEYS AND THEIR 

FRIENDS THE BIRDS. THEY LIVE TOGETHER. WATCH BY 

MOONLIGHT FOR GAME. KILL AN OSHENGUL 

After wandering through the forest for many days, 
we reached once more the banks of the River Rembo 
Ovenga, the waters of which had fallen twelve or fifteen 
feet, for we are in the dry season. The nnmerons aquatic 
birds and waders which come with the dry weather give 
the river a lively, pleasant appearance. The white sand 
which lines many parts of the shore is beautiful. The 
mornings are cool, and sometimes foggy. Tlie dark green 
of the well-wooded banks had something grand about it. 
I, poor and lonely traveler, had a charming scene before 
me. The stream is still yellow, but far less so than in 
the rainy season. Then the i-ains were driving down a 
turbulent tide laden with mud washed down from tlie 
mountains and valleys; now the waters roll on placidly, 
as though all was peace and civilization on their borders. 

New birds had come. The otters were plentiful, aiid 
fed on the fish that were thick in the stream. 

In that great jungle beasts had been scarce for some 
time, and we had a hard time to get food. 

But what a glorious time we had by ourselves in that 
forest ! Oli how I enjoyf^d rambling in that junirle. 



56 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

though toiling hard, and often hungry and sick ! How 
glad I always was w^hen I returned to the banks of the 
Rembo Ovenga ! I loved that river, for I knew that its 
waters, as they glided down, would disappear in that very 
ocean whose waves bathed the shores of both the Old 
and the New World. At times, when seated on its banks, 
I could not help it, I would think of friends absent, but 
dear to me. I remembered those I loved — I remembered 
the boys and girls who were slowly but surely growing 
men and women, but w^ho were still young folks in my 
memory, though years were flying fast. The lad of the 
jungle had become a man also ; his mustache had made 
its appearance, and had grown a good deal ; his face had 
become older — probably he found it so when perchance 
he gazed in the looking-glass he carried with him. Dis- 
ease, anxiety, sleepless nights, and traveling under the 
burning sun had begun to do their work ; but, in despite 
of all, my heart was still young, and I loved more than 
ever those friends I had left behind. 

I had come back to Obindji to see if 1 could get some 
plantains or smoked cassada, and then inteniied to return 
to the woods in search of new animals and new insects. 
King Obindji welcomed me, and was delighted to see 
Malaouen, Querlaouen, and Gambo once more, and his 
wives got food ready for us. Then we started again for 
the forest. I took with me lots of small shot of different 
sizes for birds, and once more we would get lost in the 
jungle, but from time to time we would come back to 
the uninhabited banks of the wild Ovenga to look at our 
river. 

One day, wandering in the forest, I spied a queer-look- 
ing bird I had not seen before, and I immediately got 



BIRDS AND MONKEYS PL A TING. 



57 



ready to chase it. This bird was called by the natives 
the monkey-bird {Buceros albocrystatus). 

As I was looking at that queer bird I spied a monkey, 
two monkeys, three monkeys, four, five, six, ten monkeys. 
These monkeys looked very small, and were called oshen- 
gui by the natives. Then I saw more of the queer birds, 







WA'iOUING BIEDS AND MONKEYS. 



and lo ! I perceived they were all playing with these lit- 
tle monkeys — yes, playing with these oshenguis. 

Strange indeed they looked, with their long-feathered 
tail, queer-looking body, and strange big beak. They 
followed those little monkeys as they leaped from brancl/ 

02 



58 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

to branch ; sometimes I thought they would rest on the 
backs of the monkeys, but no, they would perch close to 
them, and then the monkey and the bird would look at 
each other. I never heard a note from the birds — they 
were as silent as the trees themselves. The oshengui 
would look at them and utter a kind of kee, kee, kee, and 
then they would move on, and the birds would follow. 

Day after day I would meet those birds, and then I 
would look for the monkeys, and was sure to see them. 
No wonder they are called the monkey-bird. But then 
I never saw them follow any monkeys but the oshengui. 
I wondered why they followed them ; I could not imag- 
ine the reason. I never saw them resting on the birds, 
but I noticed that these birds were fond of the fruits and 
berries the oshneguis feed upon. Then the question arose. 
Did the birds follow the monkeys, or the monkeys the 
birds ? I came to the conclusion that the birds followed 
the monkeys, whom they could hear telling them, as it 
w^ere, where they could get food without searching for it. 

I tried to discover where these birds made their nests, 
but never found one in the country of the Rembo. 

Now let ns come to their companions, the monkeys. 
How small are these oshenguis ! They are the smallest 
monkeys of that part of Africa. Their color was of a 
yellowish tinge ; they had long, but not prehensile tails, 
for the monkeys with prehensile tails are found in 
America. It is a frolicsome and innocent little animal. 
Strange to say, the common people, who eat all kinds of 
monkeys, would not eat that one — why, I could not tell. 
His cry is very plaintive and sad, and is not heard far off, 
like the cry of other monkeys. As sure as you live, when 
you meet them liopping about the branches overhead, 



HO W THE OSHENG UI SLEEPS. 5 9 

you may say that water is not far off. They always sleep 
on trees whose branches overliang a water-course. They 
all sleep on the same tree. How queer they look, with 
their tails hanging down ! To see the mother carrying 
her young, and the young clinging to the mother, is a 
sight worth seeing, for these baby monkeys do not look 
bigger than rats, and, when quite young, not mucli big- 
ger than large mice. Strange to say, though very young 
monkeys can not walk, from the very da}^ tlipy are born 
they seem to be able to cling with their hands to the 
breast of their mother ; for young monkeys must help 
themselves, or they would drop to the ground. 

So we may say that the oshengui and the monkey-bird 
are almost inseparable friends, and we must let them 
wander in the great jungle in search of their food while 
we look for other birds and animals. 

There were also in the forest several varieties of tiger- 
cat, the name of which is very similar to that of the lit- 
tle monkeys, the oshengui, I have just spoken to you 
about. 

There are several species of these cats, but I am going 
to speak to you of the Genetta Fieldiana. You will 
say, " Wliat a queer name !" Not at all. I have told you 
that I often remembered him in Africa, and I named 
this animal after my friend, Mr. Cp'us W. Field. I de- 
scribed this animal in the proceedings of the Boston Nat- 
ural History Society. 

These oshenguis are perfect little plagues. They are 
very sly ; they never sleep at night ; they are then wan- 
dering in search of prey — of something to kill. They see 
better at night than in broad daylight. During the day 
they liide in some hollow^ tree, or in the midst of a clus- 



60 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

ter of thick, dead branches, which are so close together 
that you can not see what is inside. They will crawl in 
there and remain till night conies. The darker the night, 
the bolder their deeds ; for on a dark night they will 
come into the villages, knowing that every body is gener- 
ally asleep between tw^o or three o'clock in the morning, 
manage to get into some ponltry-honse — I do not know 
how — and then pounce upon the poor chickens and stran- 
gle them. They will destroy the whole lot of them, suck 
their blood, and if they can, they will drag one away. If 
you have a parrot they will try to get .at it. Sometimes 
they will climb trees and get their prey among the birds. 
The green wild pigeons, the partridges, the wild ducks 
and cranes, sleeping on the banks of rivers, are good food 
for them, for they are very fond of the feathered tribe. 

One morning, on the banks of a creek not far from 
our camp, I saw the footprints of an oshengui on the 
sands. It had been there, I could see, the night before. 

I had two or three chickens, which I kept carefully. 
I wanted to see if I could not get a few eggs, for I had 
not for a long time tasted any, and I wondered if the 
oshengui would come and eat my chickens. Poor chick- 
ens ! they have to look sharp in that country, for they 
have many enemies among the snakes and the species of 
wild-cats of the forest, besides the hawks. 

The moon was declining, and rose about one o'clock 
in the morning, and shone just bright enough to enable 
me to see. So, towards one o'clock, I took one of my 
chickens and tied it to a stick on the bank of the little 
creek near our camp, and hid myself, not far off, on the 
edge of the forest. I took with me two guns, one loaded 
with bullets in case I should meet larger game I did not 



THE OSHENOUI COMES AH A THIEF. -Ql 

bargain for, and the other loaded with shot, which I in- 
tended for the oshengui, if it came. 

The light from the moon was dim, as I have said, but 
just enough, for me to see. I hoped that the oshengui 
would come from the direction opposite to where I was. 
The poor fowl began to cackle, frightened at being in a 
strange place, and no doubt having an instinctive knowl- 
edge of insecurity. It cackled and cackled from time 
to time, and then would try to go to sleep, but could not; 
it seemed to comprehend impending danger. 

At last I saw something coming along the shore w^hose 
eyes were like two bright charcoal fires. It seemed so 
close to the ground that, if it had not been for the two 
fiery eyes, I should have thought it was a big snake. The 
legs were so short and so bent that the body touched the 
ground. I raised my gun very carefully, and waited. At 
last I could see the long muzzle of the oshengui. How 
sly the animal was ! He came on like a thief, and so 
carefully looking right and left as he advanced, but nev- 
er losing sight of the fowl. The nearer he came, the 
flatter his body lay on the ground, until it arrived near 
the fowl ; then there was a pause ; then a sudden spring 
upon the fowl — there was just one cry; the fowl was dead. 
Having aimed carefully, I pulled the trigger — bang ! and 
down rolled the oshengui on his back, with the fowl in 
his jaws. A tremendous shout rose from our camp. 
Gambo, Querlaouen, and Malaouen came rushing to- 
ward me, and they all cried, " You will kill no more of 
our fowls now, Oshengui !" With my prize hung above 
my head, I went to sleep, and the next day we made 
preparations to go up the river. 



CHAPTEE YIII. 



WE AKE IN A CANOE. OUTFIT FOE HUNTING. SEE A BEAU- 
TIFUL ANTELOPE. KILL IT. IT IS A NEW SPECIES. 

KIVEK AND FOEEST SWALLOWS. 

We are now ascending the River Rembo Ovenga. We 
are in a little canoe, that can be easily hidden in the j an- 
gle, and as we ascend the river we meet strange sights, 
and I can assure you we enjoy our journey. It is true 
that it is hot, but we can not help it. In the bow of the 
canoe is a little stick, to which is attached a nice little 
flag showing the Stars and Stripes. Querlaouen is at 
the stern, and using his paddle as a rudder; Malaoucn 
is at the head, where he keeps a sharp look-out for wdld 
beasts. I need not say that his gun is close at hand. 

Gambo and I have our paddles, and we dip them gen- 
tly — so gently that, if you had been on the banks of the 
river at night, you could not have heard us. Near the 
prow is a smooth-bore gun, loaded with shot, in case we 
should see some big crane or wild ducks. By my side 
lies a double-barreled breech-loader, loaded w^ith very 
large steel-pointed bullets, in case of need, for elephants, 
crocodiles, leopards, wild buffaloes, and gorillas ; or, should 
w^e be attacked by the savages inhabiting the country, they 
were to be used against them. By the- side of that gun 
was a heavy war-axe. Malaouen had his gun by him ; 
Gambo likewise. Our formidable double-barreled breech- 



OUR OUTFIT WAS LIGHT. 63 

loader, with steel-pointed bullets, would smash, I was sure, 
an elephant's ribs, if the opportunity occurred. We had 
an extra gun, in case one should get out of order. We 
had also two cutlasses. We thought we would dispense 
with a cooking-pot, for all our food was to be roasted on 
charcoal — that is to say, if we were able to kill any 
game. In a little box made of tin I had matches, a few 
Hints, and a fire-steel, which were to be used in case the 
matches should become worthless. 

I had also a lancet, a little bottle of ammonia to be 
used in the event of either of us being bitten by a scor- 
pion or some venomous serpent, some medicine, and a 
bottle of quinine. 

For food we had a few plantains and dried cassada. 
Then we expected to find berries, nuts, and fruits, and 
wild honev. Of course our imao:ination ran wild. The 
idea of Gambo Avas tliat the forest would be full of 
wild game ; antelopes were to be plentiful, and also wild 
boars. 

Our outfit was of the light order. Gambo, Malaouen, 
and Qaerlaouen wore next to nothing, and they had no 
change of clothes but a wild-cat skin. They could take 
it easy in the matter of clothing — shirts, neck-ties, panta- 
loons, waistcoats, and coats were superfluities which they 
can dispense with. 

My outfit was composed of the clothes I wore, and in 
my hunting-bag I had an extra pair of thick shoes, in 
case those I wore should give out, and a second pair of 
pantaloons. 

Each of us had a flask full of powder, with a goodly 
number of bullets, and some small shot. 

At last we came to the spot where we wanted to land, 



64 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

and then hauled our canoe into the jungle, hiding it 
where we thought no, one could see it. Afterward we 
advanced a little into the forest, and then made our 
camp for the night. As usual, we made large, blazing 
fires, and, after they had been fairly started, we laid 
down on the green branches of the trees we had cut, 
and before I knew it my men were fast asleep. The 
deep snore of Gambo told me that he was unconscious 
of what was going on around ; he was soon followed by 
Querlaouen and Malaouen, and they snorted a trio which 
would have well frightened any wild beast which might 
come lurking round us. Each of these men held their 
gu^ns closely in their arms. 

I rose and looked at these three brave and daring 
savages, who now slumbered perfectly unconscious and 
helpless. I looked at them with a feeling of love, and 
thought that soon, like themselves, I would fall asleep, 
and be as unconscious of all that was round me. I 
thought of the wild country I was in, of the wild beasts 
by which I was surrounded, and I began to feelso little 
and so weak, I seated myself and prayed to the great 
God, he who had created the white man, and the black 
man, and all species of men, and the wild beasts of the 
forest, to keep me as he had done before. 

Continuing our wanderings in the forest, the next 
morning I came alone to a beautiful little stream, and 
just as I was in the act of stooping to drink some of its 
water, which was as clear as crystal, I suddenly heard a 
slight noise not far off, which I believed must be made 
by antelopes or gazelles. Looking carefully at my gun, 
I made for that part of the forest from whence came 
the sounds, trying to be as nimble and as noiseless a^ I 



A.PPEARAXCE OF THE BONGO. 65 

could. I bad not proceeded far when my eyes opened 
wide open, and I became terribly excited, for I saw an 
animal I had never seen before — an antelope. It was 
the most lovely and beautiful creature of the forest I 
liad ever seen. I stopped. It seemed to me that I had 
not eyes big enough to admire it. Oh, I thought, it is 
too beautiful to be fired at and killed. How brilliant 
was his colors! The body was of a bright yellow, as 
bright as an orange ; then from its back came fourteen 
beautiful stripes, as white as snow ; a chestnut patch be- 
tween the horns and the eyes, below which was a white 
crescent, having in the middle a dark brown stripe. 
That beautiful creature was qilietly resting on the trunk 
of a dead tree, while beyond, among the trees, were sev- 
eral others which I could not see so well. 

I was so excited I could not breatlie, for of all the 
Jovely beasts I had seen in the forest, this one was the 
jjaost lovely ; none could have compared with it in beau- 
ty. The skin of the leopard was nothing to it. 

I raised my gun almost in sorrow, but I felt that I 
•mist kill the beast, in order to bring its skin home ; for 
I knew it was an animal that had never been seen be- 
fore. 

Just as I raised my gun, the beautiful creature rose up 
from the tree on which it had slept, as if to show me its 
beautiful form, and how graceful w^ere its motions, before 
the fatal shot should put an end to its life. I wish you 
could have seen this antelope when alive, surrounded by 
the green of the forest, which contrasted singularly with 
its bright color, and made the animal appear as if it had 
come from an enchanted land, where the sun had given 
to its hair and skin its own golden color, as it sometimes 




SlIOOTING THE NEW ANTKLOl'E. 



KILL THE BONGO. 07 

gives it to the clouds when it is on the point of disappear- 



mg. 



I put my finger on the trigger and fired ; down came 
that beautiful creature fi'om the tree, falling on its back, 
showing a stomach as white as milk. The others de- 
camped without my being able to fii'e at them, on ac- 
count of the fallen tree. 

As I came near to look at my great prize, I felt that I 
would like to put my arm round the nice neck of the an- 
imal, whose short groans betokened it was in the agonies 
of death, for I felt so sorry, and I wished I could see it 
alive again. Then the blood poured from its mouth, and 
stained. the ground on which it lay gasping for breath, 
which it could not get. After a few -struggles all be- 
came silent ; the poor antelope was dead, killed by the 
ruthless hand of man. 

I looked at it and looked at it, for I could not tire 
looking at such a beautiful beast. 

The men came, and we cut a heavy branch of a tree, 
to which we fastened it, and brought the poor dead an- 
telope to the camp. When I brought the stuffed animal 
to a village, the people at once shouted with transports 
of the wildest astonishment, " Bongo ! bongo !" for such 
was the native name given to this antelope. 

I need not say how careful I was in preparing its skhi, 
which to me was precious, and I brought the stuffed speci- 
men back to New York in the year 1859, and in 1860 it 
could have been seen among the large collection I had 
brought here.* 

The collection has left the country. 

* A description of it can be seen in the report of the Boston Natural 
History Society for 1860. 



68 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

Since the day I had killed the bongo we had built an- 
other camp near another beautiful stream — the forest 
was full of them — and not far from two or three aban- 
doned plantations. Often I would go all alone and watch 
the birds. I loved especially to look at the swallows 
One which I discovered was a beautiful species. It is 
all black, but with a bluish tinge. When the weathei' 
was clear, and there was no prospect of an approaching 
storm, they flew high in the air ; but if the weather was 
threatening, they would almost touch the bushes. When 
they fly high in the air, the insects on which they feed, I 
suppose, are there ; but when a storm is coming the in- 
sects no doubt know it, and come down to seek refuge 
from the rain under the leaves or blades of grass. These 
are the reasons- by which I account for the swallows fly- 
ing high in fine weather, and low when a storm is com- 
ing. 

How quickly these little black swallows did fly ! I^one 
of them had ever seen our northern clime. They were 
birds of the equatorial regions of Africa. The woods 
are their home, and the open spots where plantations or 
villages are built, and where the rivers flow, are the places 
where they love to fly in search of their food. 

There was another beautiful swallow, a river swallow, 
black in color, with a solitary white spot, which looked 
like silver, on its throat. What a beautiful little bird it 
is ! Its days were spent flying over the river. It would 
take a flight, and then rest on the branches or stumps of 
some dead trees which were imbedded in the stream, but 
the branches of which were just above the water. 

I could not help feeling sorry when killing these little 
birds, and, after I thought I had killed enough of them 



THE HOME OF THE SWALLOWS. 69 

to enrich the museums, nothing would have tempted me 
to kill another. 

This lovely and dear little swallow has never seen the 
countries where the polar star is visible ; the silence of 
the forest is its delight, and its pleasure is to skim over 
the waters of rivers which come from unexplored and 
un penetrated mountains, where the name of the white 
man has never been heard. 

How I loved to look at these little birds, for I do love 
swallows ! 

Little wanderers they are. At home they are the her- 
alds of spring. If they could speak, how many touching 
stories they would have to tell us of their wonderful es- 
capes, and of their trials and dangers ; what hardships 
they have to encounter when they migrate and travel 
over distant lands, when they cross over seas and over 
mountains ; how many of them fall bravely before reach 
ing the land they want to reach ; what stormy and tem- 
pestuous weather they often meet in their journey, and 
how happy they must feel when they have come to the 
land of their migration. 




CHAPTEK IX. 

A\E HEAE THE CEY OF A YOUNG GOEILLA. STAET TO CAP- 

TUEE HIM. FIGHT WITH "hIS FATHEE." WE KILL HIM. 

KILL THE MOTHEE. CAPTUEE OF THE BABY. STEANGE 

CAMP SCENE. 

One very fine morning, jiist at the dawn of day, when 
the dew-drops were f allmg from leaf to leaf, and could 
hardly reach the ground; just as the birds were begin- 
ning to sing, the insects to hum, the bee to buzz, the 
butterflies to awake, I suddenly heard the cry of a young 
gorilla for his mother. Malaouen and Querlaouen were 
with me. They heard the cry as well as I did, and im- 
mediately gave a kind of chuck for me to remain still. 
We listended attentively to ascertain the exact spot in 
the forest whence the noise proceeded. Another cry 
from the young gorilla told us the precise direction, and 
we made for the place. 

The jungle was so thick that we had to be most care- 
ful in order to avoid arousing the suspicions of the go- 
rilla. Happily, we came to a little rivulet which seemed 
to flow from the direction in which we had heard the 
noise. So we waded into it and followed its course in- 
stead of a path. The water at times reached as high as 
our knees ; it was cool and limpid, and the bed of the 
stream was gravelly. 

The noise made by the young gorilla had for some 



ATTACKED BY A FATHER GORILLA. 71 



time ceased, and we wondered if he had gone. When, 
lo ! I heard a heavy chuckle — it was the mother ! We 
were not far oif. We left the stream, passing through 
the jungle most carefully. At last we lay -flat on our 
bellies, looking more like snakes than human beings. I 
had that morning painted my face and hands black, so I 
appeared of the same color as my men. We crawled to 
a spot where we remained quite still, for we could then 
hear the noise the mother gorilla made ni taking the ber- 
ries from the lower branches of the trees, or in tearing 
down some wild kind of cane. We were watchino- and 
peefing through the jungle — my eyes were almost sore 
from the exertion. 

By-and-by we heard a noise in our rear. It was the 
male gorilla ! What a terrific roar he gave as he saw 
us close by, and watching his wife. The whole forest 
resounded with it. Goodness gracious ! I thought we 
ought to have been more careful. AVe ought to have 
considered that perhaps the male gorilla was with his 
wife. But in less time than I take to write it we were 
facing the gorilla, who advanced toward us, his face con- 
vulsed with rage. Just as he was close upon us we fired, 
and he fell forward on his face, uttering a most frightful 
groan. After a few movements and twitchings of the 
limbs, he was silent, for he was dead. 

In the mean time the mother and her young had gone 
off, leaving the " big fellow" to fight their battles. 

It was a good thing that the big gorilla came first, for 
he might have come after we had fired, and while we 
were trying to catch " his child," and then pounced upon 
us. 

"The female gorilla and her young have gone; but 



72 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

first," saidMalaouen, "let us hide ourselves close by and 
wait ; perhaps she will come back ; let us see if we can 
not find them." We hid ourselves on the lower branches 
of a tree, not far from the dead body of the big gorilla. 
We waited and waited — not a sound — nothing to show 
that the female gorilla was coming back to see if her 
mate was there. 

Beginning to feel somewhat tired of waiting, I said, 
" Boys, let us see if we can find the gorilla. You know, 
as well as I do, that f emaie gorilla are timid — indeed, 
that most of them are great cowards. The ' men' gorilla 
fight, but the ' women' gorilla do not." 

" That is so," replied Malaouen. " Querlaouen, let us 
go after the female and try to capture her." 

So we descended the tree upon which we had hidden 
ourselves. We left the big gorilla dead on the ground, 
bidding him good-by, and telling him that we were com- 
ing again ; Malaouen adding in a queer way, " Kombo" 
(that is the name they give to a male gorilla), "who told 
you to come and fight us ? If you had not come, perhaps 
at this time you might have been by the side of your 
wife and child, instead of being asleep for all time to 
come. The forest is not going to hear your ' talk' any 
more, and you are not going to frighten any body." So 
we left the big fellow dead on the ground, and went 
immediately in search of the female gorilla and her 
young. 

In order not to lose our dead gorilla, as we advanced 
in the jungle, we broke, here and there, young branches 
of the trees, and from time to time collected leaves in 
our hands, which we dropped on the ground, and then, on 
our return, we would look after the boughs of the trees 



THE MOTHER GORILLA AXB HER YOUNG. 73 

we had broken, and the leaves we had scattered, and thus 
find our way back to the gorilla. 

We tra^•eled on through the jungle for a long time, 
and no gorilla. At last we were startled. We heard a 
roar. It was the female calling for her mate. It was 
the female that had escaped from us in the morning. 
She was calling for the " old man," who would not hear 
her any more, for, as you know, he was dead. She called 
and called, but there was no answer for her. 

Carefully we went through the j ungle, stepping gently 
on the dead leaves of the trees till we came near the fe- 
male gorilla, which we saw just behind an old tree that 
had fallen on the ground. There she was, looking at her 
babe, giving now and then a kind of chuckle, her old, 
wrinkled black face looking so ugly. Her gray eyes fol- 
lowed the young gorilla as lie would move round ; then 
she would pick a berry, giving another kind of chuckle 
for the baby to come and get it. After eating it he 
would climb on his mother, and she would pass her 
thick black hand over the little body. Then he came 
down and seated himself between her legs, and gazed at 
her, his little black face looking so queer. Then he 
moved off again, but only to return once more. As 
I was very intently watching, my gun slipped from 
the tree along which it rested, and fell on the ground. 
The gorilla heard it, gave a shriek, and, followed by her 
babe, was starting to run. The gun of Querlaouen was 
too quick for her. Bang ! The poor mother fell in her 
gore, but the little fellow disappeared in the woods. 

We leaped over the tree, and did not even take a look 
at the poor dead gorilla, but rushed in pursuit of the 
young fellow, who was the prize we wanted the most. 

D 



74 ^ OST IN THE JUNOLE. 

At last we saw him ; a stream had stopped his flight. 
He could not get any farther, and was looking toward 
the other side. But he soon spied us, and took to a 
young sapling, and when he had reached the top he 
looked at us with glaring eyes, and — would you believe 
it ? — howled again and again at us ! 

There was no way to get at him, so Malaouen took his 
axe, and down came the tree, with the gorilla on it, howl- 
ing and shrieking. At the same instant Querlaouen threw 
over his head a little net we carried with us for the pur- 
pose of capturing gorillas, and so we caught him. 

We hollaed and shouted also, so our shouts, mixed 
with the howls and shrieks of the gorilla, made a charm- 
ing concert in the jungle. After giving vent to our joy- 
ous feelings by shouts, and had sobered down again, I 
wish you could have seen that gorilla kicking under its 
net. The question was how to take the fellow from un- 
der the net and get it home. I cried, " Give me the axe ; 
I see a branch close by which will make a splendid forked 
stick." The words were hardly uttered before the axe 
was in my hands, and in the wink of an eye I had hold 
of a stick about five feet long, with a pronged fork. 
Malaouen had in the mean time cut a little stick to tie 
across it, and collected some creepers to be used as cords. 

I wish you could have heard his howls as Querlaouen 
seized the little villain by the back of his head, while I 
put the forked stick on his neck, holding it fast to the 
ground while Malaouen was tying the little stick, now 
and then taldng his hands off for fear of a bite, the little 
rascal kicked up such a row. Querlaouen, who had be- 
come free to act after I got the forked stick firm over 
his neck, had all he could do to hold the legs of the lit- 



YOUNG GORILLA A PRISONER. 75 

tie fellow on the ground, who kicked ujd, hollaed, and 
shrieked ; liis- muscles worked, and lie tried to catch hold 
of us Avith his hands, but the forked stick was too much 
for him, and then we succeeded in tying his hands be- 
hind his back. 

I was sorry to hurt his poor neck, but the first thing 
the little rascal attempted as soon as I raised the stick 
from the ground was to start at us. But he could not 
even turn his head round. lie had to walk off a prison- 
er, and liis shouts and shrielvs were of no avail. His 
father and mother had been killed, and he had no one 
to defend him from his enemies. 

How proud we felt of our prize ! We returned by the 
way we had come, being guided by the broken boughs of 
young trees and the leaves we had thrown on the ground. 
As soon as we came to the female gorilla, and the little 
fellow saw his mother, he tried to rush toward her. I 
dropped the forked stick and let him go. He at once 
jumped on his motlier, and began sucking her breasts, 
and then looked in her face, and appeared to feel quite 
sorrowful. When he saw she was dead, he gave a howl 
at us, as if to say, " You fellows have killed my mother !" 

It was utterly impossible for us to carry to our camp 
all our spoil, so we concluded to hang her to a branch oi 
a tree, and come for her the next morning, which we 
did. 

Then we continued our march, and toward sunset 
came to the large male we had killed in the morning. 
We were so tired that we did riot wish to do any thiiig 
with the big gorilla that night. I felt I was too tired to 
take liis skin off. The little fellow did not seem to care 
for his father ; he looked at him well, and gave only a 



^g LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

single plaintive cry. I could not help thinking of the 
poor old fellow. How many times he had slept at the 
foot of some big tree, and kept watch over his vTife and 
Laby ! N^ow he was dead, nothing but his huge body and 
his tremendous face showed the giant strength he once 
possessed; now a little insect was stronger than he was. 
What had he died for? He had died bravely defend- 
ing his wife and baby from an enemy whom he knew 
had come to do them harm. He was right. May I and 
every man of us always have the same motive that big 

gorilla had ! 

I could not help feeling sorry. Here lay dead before 
me a wonderful beast, one of the most strange creatures 
of the forest God has created. His mate lay dead in an- 
other part of the forest, and their offspring was my pris- 
oner. 

How strange his huge shadow looked as he hung by 
the neck to the limb of a tree near our camp, and how 
small our bodies looked by the side of his ! 

That night I could not sleep. That big gorilla was 
always before my eyes. He seemed to grin at me ; his 
long, powerful arm, his huge hands, appeared as if they 
were moving and trying to seize me. I could see his big 
black nails ready to go into my flesh; his mouth seemed 
ready to open and give one of those terrific roars which 
shake the whole forest. And then I would see his enor- 
mous canines come out from his sharp-cut hps, and how 
red his mouth was inside. There were his deep sunken 
eyes, wide open, looking at me, and, though dead, he had 
a scowl of defiance and intense ferocity on his face. It 
so happened that his face was turned toward the bed of 
leaves on which I lay, and he was hung not far from me. 



Q UERLA UEX BLEEDS HIS HANDS "j 7 

^ The young gorilla during tJie whole night moaned for 
his mother. He would look at the fires before him, then 
at us, and then give a howl, as if he was saying, " What 
have I before me ?" I decidedly frightened him more 
than Malaouen and Querlaouen could, for, in despite of 
the noise the young gorilla made, and of the shadow of 
the big gorilla, they had fallen sound asleep. But now 
and then they would awake, look at the fires, put on 
more wood to make a blaze, would perhaps smoke a 
pipe, and then go to sleep again. 

Toward four o'clock in the morning Querlaouen arose, 
took from his bag a little idol, and put it on the ground, 
muttering words I could not hear, all the time thinking 
I was sound asleep. Then he took a piece of chalk of 
the Alumbi, and rubbed it on his forehead between his 
two eyes; then he rubbed it in the hollow of his chest, 
and along both his arms; then he chewed a piece of a 
certain soft cane, which he spat on the idol; and then 
he talked to it. Now and then he muttered my name. 
At last I understood that the ignorant but good fellow 
was begging his idol to take care of me. 

Then, with his sharp -pointed knife, he cut his two 
hands slightly in many places, and took the blood that 
fell and rubbed his body with it, also the idol, and then 
laid down once more by the fires and took another 
sleep. 

Gambo had left us to go after wild honey, but not be- 
fore making us a solemn promise not to hunt gorilla, for 
I was afraid that some accident might happen to him. 
The next morning when he returned to our camp, and 
saw our big gorilla hanging to the tree, and heard that 
the mother of the young gorilla had been killed also, he 




QUEELAOUEN AND HIS IDOL. 



I KILL A NSUIEGO-MBOUVK 79 

cried, "Why did I go jifter wild honey instead of re- 
maining with you I" But he cjuietly seated himself , and 
after a while wanted a piece of gorilla for his breakfast, 
for we had to skin the beast, as I wanted his hide and 
skeleton. 

The next evening I saw the shelter of a nsliTego- 
inbouve {Troglodytes calvus). I crept within shot of 
the shelter, lay down flat in the jungle — I am sure a 
snake or leopard could not have lain more quiet — and 
there I waited. My men had covered themselves with 
dry leaves and brush, scarce daring to breathe, lest the 
approaching animal should hear us. 

From the calls there were evidently two. It was get- 
ting dark in the forest, and I began to feel afraid that 
the animals had smelt us, when I saw a nshiego-mbouve 
approach the tree where the shelter was. It ascended 
by a hand-over-hand movement, and with great rapidity. 
Then it crept carefully under the shelter, seated itself in 
the crotch made by a projecting bough, its feet and 
haunches resting on this bough, then put one anri round 
the trunk of the tree for security. Thus they rest all 
night, and this posture accounts for some singular abra- 
sions of the hair on the side of this variety of chimpan- 
zee, which could be seen on the specimens I brought 
home. 

^0 sooner was it seated than it began again to utter 
its call. It was a male, and was calling for its female. 
It was answered, when an ^mlucky motion of one of my 
men made a noise, and roused the suspicions of the ape 
in the tree. It looked round. It began preparations to 
descend and clear out. I fired, and it fell to the ground 
dead, with a tremendous crash. 



80 



LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



These nsliiego-mbouvd are very shy, and far more dif- 
ficult to approach than gorillas. How queer they look 
with their bald heads ! The black skin on the top of 
the head is quite shiny. They must attain great age, 
and I have often wondered how long the gorilla, chim- 
panzee, kooloo-kamba, and nshiego-mbouve live. I should 
not be surprised if they sometimes live to be a hundred 
years old. 

All the varieties of chimpanzees often inhabit the 
same woods as the gorilla, and they seem to live in har- 
mony with each other. There is food enough for them 
all ; besides, nuts and fruits are very plentiful. When 
they get old they feed on leaves, for a time comes when 
their teeth are quite decayed. In one very old nshiego- 
mbouve I killed, nearly all of his teeth had dropped out, 
and he had but four or five left. 





CHAPTEE X. 

JACK WILL HAVE HIS OAVN WAY. HE SEIZES MY LEG. 

HE TEAES ]VIY PANTALOONS. HE GEOWLS AT :ME. HE 

REFUSES COOKED FOOD. JACK MAKES HIS BED. JACK 

SLEEPS WITH ONE EYE OPEN. JACK IS INTRACTABLE. 

Now let US follow tliat young gorilla, whom I called 
Jack. 

Jack, to begin witli, was the most un tractable little 
beast one possibly could get hold of. Jack was a little 
villain, a little rogue, very treacherous, and quite untam- 
able. The kinder I was, the worse he seemed to be. 
We took him with us in the forest till we returned to 
our village, and then many of the women disappeared. 

Jack was smart in his wickedness, and was quite as 
treacherous as any of the gorillas I had met before. He 
would not eat any cooked food, and every day I had to 
send into the forest for berries and nuts. I wisli you 
could have seen his eyes glisten, you would have noticed 
how treacherous and gloomy they were. Jack was cun- 
ning ; he would look at me right straight in the face, 
and when he did that I learned that he meant mischief, 
and, if close at hand, meant an attack upon me. 

Of course, once in the camp, the forked stick had been 
taken away, and a little chain tied roimd the neck of 
Ja(;k ; the chain was about six feet long. Then I had a 
long pole fastened in the ground, and the chain was tied 

D2 



82 



LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



to an iron ring which had been used as a bracelet on tlie 
upper arm of a native, by which means he could turn all 
round without entangling the chain. 

One day I had come to offer Jack some tondo (ber- 
ries) which friend Malaouen had just collected for him 
(I wanted always to feed Jack mj^self, to see if I could 
tame him), and I approached the little fellow to within 
the distance which I thought the utmost length of his 
chain would allow him to go. He looked at me straight 
in tlie face, and I waited for him to extend his arm to get 
the nice tondo I was offering him, when, quick as light- 
ning, he threw his body on the ground on one arm and 




CAUGHT BY JACK. 



one leg, the chain drawn to its full length, and then, be- 
fore I knew it, he seized my leg, and with his big toe 
got hold and fast of my inexjpressibles^ which Avere rath- 
er old, and a portion of them was soon in his pos^session. 



A PIECE OF MY PANTALOONS OFF. 83 

I thought in mj fright that a piece of my leg had also 
been taken away, which I am glad to say was not the 
case. Still holding the piece of my pantaloons, he re- 
treated to his pole, then gave a howl and started at me 
again. Tliis time I knew better — I was off. He held the 
piece of my pantaloons for a long time, it having passed 
from his big toe into his hand. 

Jack looked at times almost cross-eyed, and was as 
ngly a fellow as any one could msli to see. lie was not 
so strong as friend Joe, the account of which you have 
read in " Stories of the Gorilla Country," but he was a 
pretty strong chap, and I should not have liked to . be 
shut up in a room alone with him. Several times I had 
narrow escapes of a grip from his strong big toe. 

When evening came, Jack would collect the dr}^ leaves 
I had given him, and would go to sleep upon them, and 
sometimes he did look almost like a child. 

How strange that I never saw twin gorillas ! The 
mother gorilla has only one baby gorilla at a time. My 
men and I have captured a good many of their young 
ones during the time I lived in the great forest of Equa- 
torial Africa, but I never succeeded in taming one. Some 
were more fierce or stubborn than others, but all refused 
food that was cooked ; the berries, nuts, and fruits must 
come from the forest. Though these little brutes were 
diminutive, and the merest babies in age, they were as- 
tonishingly strong, and, as you have yourselves seen in 
the different accounts I have given you, by no means 
good tempered. When any thing displeased them they 
would roar, and bellow, and look wickedly from out their 
cunning little eyes, and strike the ground with their feet. 

Jack was not so ugly-looking a fellow as friend Joe, 



84 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

neither was he as strong. Like all the gorillas, his face 
and his skin were entirely black. His little eyes, deep 
and sunken, seemed to be gray ; his nose was more prom- 
inent than in the chimpanzee, for gorillas have noses, 
aiid consequently he comes nearer in appearance than 
the chimpanzee to the African negro. He had, as we 
Jiave, eyelashes, and the upper ones were the longest. 
His mouth was large, and the lips sharply cut. The go- 
rilla has no lips like we have ; the dark pigment covers 
them, and w^lien his mouth is shut no red is seen outside. 
The ears are small in comparison with the face, and they 
are smaller than the ears of man. Their ears are much 
smaller than thooa of the chimpanzee, and look very much 
like the ears of man ; the chin is short and receding. 

Tlie face is very wrinkled ; the head is covered with 
hair much shorter than that on the body, and in the male 
gorilla the top of the head has a reddish crown of hair. 

You see how much the arm of the gorilla is like the 
arm of man — how short his legs are. The leg is about 
the same size from the knee to the ankle, the short thigh 
decreasing slightly. The leg of the gorilla has not the 
graceful curve found in man, it having no calf. 

I w^ant you to examine the hands and feet of a young 
gorilla. You will be struck at once how short the hand 
is, and how much it looks like that of a man. The fin- 
gers are short, but how thick tliey are ! the nails are very 
much like ours, and project slightly over the tips of the 
fingers. See how short the thumb is — how much short- 
er than the thumb of man ; it is hardly half as thick as 
the forefinger. The thumb is of very little use to a go- 
rilla. The palm of the hand is hard, naked, and callous ; 
the back is hairy to the knuckles, and the short hair grows 
on the fina'ors, as in man. 



86 



LOST m THE JUNQLE. 



The leg of the gorilla is very short. , Look %f his foot. 
Instead of a big toe he has a thumb, and you see, by the 
wrinkles and transverse indents, that the foot is used as 
a hand. The third toe is a little longer than the second, 
and the others follow in the same proportion ; and, if you 
look at your own feet, you will see that the toes of the 
gorilla and those of man keep the same gradation of 
length, the middle one being the longest. 

Look at the representation of a young gorilla as he 
sleeps. He certainly looks almost Hke a baby ; but do not 
believe that he is so fast asleep that you need make a 
great deal of noise to awake him. No ; these little fel- 
lows seem to go " to bed" with one eye open, and at the 
least noise you see their gray eye twinkle, and immedi- 
ately they sit up, and look round to discover what is the 
matter, and at once are ready for a fight. As they 
awake they generally give a howl of defiance. 




CIIAPTEE XI. 



START AFTEE LAND -CRABS. VILLAGE OF THE CRABS. — 

EACH CRAB KNOWS HIS HOUSE. GREAT FLIGHT OF 

CRABS. THEY BITE HARD. FEAST ON THE SLAIN. A 

HERD OF HIPPOPOTAMI. 

Yf E have come do^Ti to the river. We are off in our 
canoes to hunt for ogomhon (land-crabs), each one of 
us being provided with a basket and a short cutlass, and 
are paddling for some spot not far from the banks of 
the river where the land-crabs are found in abundance. 
There are several canoes full of women, for catching 
crabs is the special business of the women, as hunting is 
the special work of the men. 

The land-crabs bmTow in the ground. Their holes are 
found in very large numbers in some parts of the coun- 
try. The burrows form the subterranean homes of tlie 
cra1>s, into which they retire when alarmed — and tlie 
slightest noise does that. They remain in their burrows 
until hunger drives them out in search of food, or when 
they fancy danger is averted. 

We landed at last on a swampy bottom, the soil of 
which was very black. I immediately saw an innumer- 
able quantity of crabs running in all directions — making 
for their burrows — alarmed at pur approach and the 
sound of footsteps; and as thc}^ ran they displayed the 
two large claws with which they were ready to bite any 



88 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

one bold enough to seize tliem. The ground %as cover- 
ed with an incredible number of burrows. 

These land-crabs are curious creatures. They are 
found in various parts of the world, and Equatorial 
Africa has a fair share of them, in goodly variety. The 
natives have any number of wonderful tales to tell about 
the ogombons. 

There was a wild shout of joy among the people at 
having come to the right spot. The baskets were im- 
mediately opened, the short heavy sticks and cutlasses 
were got in readiness, and we scattered all over the 
thickly- wooded island, for it was an island where only 
mangrove grew. Not far from the island I could see 
huge hippopotami playing in the river, but we had taken 
it into our heads to come down the river and make a 
great haul of these crustacese. 

There was, as I have said, a general skedaddle of 
crabs, for at the least noise they ran away, having a 
counterpart in the w^omen, who ran to and fro with great 
shouts, which were soon taken up by the men, in their 
wild excitement after land-crabs. 

These crabs were of tremendous size, and were the 
real ogombons, the largest species found in the country, 
and the only ones the natives will eat. They were gray, 
almost of the color of the mud on which they w^alk. 
They were armed with tremendous claws, which warned 
us to be very careful in handling them, or vv e should get 
a good bite. 

This island ^vas celebrated as the home of the ogom- 
bons, and the whole of that part on which we landed 
w^as entirely covered with their burrows, which were in 
many places so thick and so close together as to com- 



THE CLAWH NOl) STJiAXGELY. 89 

municate with each other. In these retreats the crabs 
remain in darkness. They never venture far from home. 
How Master Land-Crab knows his own habitation from 
those of his neighbor I can not tell, but now and then 
he would make a mistake and go into " somebody else's 
house," thus getting into the wrong box. 

At this time of the year the land-crabs were fat, but 
the shells were somewhat hard, but not so hard as later 
in the season, when tlie crab is left to himself, not being 
so good to eat. Hence, in the season, land-crab parties 
start from every village for the spots where they are to 
be found. 

When the crabs are ready to cast off their shells, they 
shut themselves up in their burrow, which they have 
stocked with leaves, closing the entrance with mud, and 
they remain there until their new armor is on. After 
quitting its old armor a crab is very soft, but in course 
of time the new shell becomes hard, even harder than 
the preceding one. I was never able to ascertain the 
age a land-crab could attain. ^ 

So w^e w^ere racing in every direction after the land- 
crabs, which fled with the utmost speed for their bur- 
rows. [N'ow and then one would be caught. We had to 
be very light of foot when approaching them, for at the 
least noise they would go and hide in their dark abodes. 

Of the two large claws, one was a tremendous thing, 
and it was amusing to watch the crabs walking leisurely 
round their holes, as if there was no foe in their neigh- 
borhood, but yet holding up one of the large claws as if 
they were ready for any thing that miglit come along. 
This claw nodded backward and forward in a very com- 
ical manner. 



90 



LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



I approached one very big fellow without his having 
perceived me, and, before he w^as aware, I laid my stick 
heavily on his back, and then seized him with my hand, 
to place him in the basket which hung at my side. I 
roared out with pain, for he had got hold of one of my 
fingers with its large claw, and shook it as if he would 
have torn it off. With my other hand I quickly seized 







OATCIIINQ THE OGOMJiOMB. 



the crab and twisted the claws from the body, which I 
thought would release me ; but lo ! although the body 
lay on the ground, the rascally claws gripped harder than 
ever. Oh ! oh ! oh ! ! ! I shouted — which cries brought 
two or three of the women to my assistance. The mus- 
cles of the claws had retained their contractile power 
after they were separated from the body. 



/ CAPTURE A LAND- CRAB. 91 

In the mean time the niscal had retired into his bur- 
row, no doubt in a good deal of pain, but saying to him- 
self, " What do I care ; a new Hmb will soon come out !" 
for among the crustaceee such is the case — a new limb 
soon springs out, and takes the place of the one lost ; so 
I was left without my prize. The women again warned 
me to be very careful, instructing me how to catch crabs 
by seizing the big claw and severing it from the body ; 
but, before doing this, the stick must be placed on the 
middle of the back, w^here the claws can not reach, as 
they can not move backward. 

I soon spied another crab, but he heard my footstep, 
and with the utmost speed made for his burrow. Tlien 
I came suddenly upon another, just in front of me ; he 
had not time to turn round ; so, shoving my stick in front 
of him until it nearly touched his two big eyes, I put him 
into a furious rage. By-and-by he managed to seize the 
stick, which he shook, just as the other crab had done my 
linger. I was thankful that it was not my finger this 
time. The motion of the claw at the junction with the 
body was very queer. After some trouble, I managed to 
secure this fellow. Then I went after another, which at 
once took to his burrow and disappeared ; but I was de- 
termined to watcli and wait for him. I noticed him ev- 
er}^ now and then peering slyly out, drawing in his head 
at the slightest noise ; so I hid behind his burrow, and 
kept very still. At last he came out, walking slowly from 
his hole. I put my foot on his burrow, upon which lie 
turned round, and ran one way and then another, and 
finally made for another burrow, where he met the pod^ 
sessor coming out from his "*castle," when a general figlit 
of claws ensued. The aggressor, being tlie stronger, sue- 



92 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

ceeded in winning the battle and getting in, while tlie 
other, in his fright, plunged into a burrow the owner of 
which had probably been killed that morning. 

Great slaughter of the crabs had already taken place, 
and so many heavy, fat fellows had been captured that 
we were sure of a great feast. It was well for us that it 
was so, for at last the ogombons got thoroughly fright- 
ened and remained in their burrows ; not one was to be 
seen • so, after having captured some thousands of them, 
we got back into our canoes and ascended the river again. 

The ogombons are peculiar. I think they never go to 
the sea, but deposit their eggs on the shores of the isl- 
and, for I never met them on the sea-coast. They feed 
on all kinds of refuse, on black mud, leaves, berries, etc., 
etc. The crabs found on the main land are not eaten, 
the natives believing that they sometimes visit their cem- 
eteries. On the white sand of the sea-shore are found 
innumerable little crabs of the same color as the sand it- 
self. 

Besides the ogombons there are many other land-crabs, 
but they are much smaller, and are not eaten by the na- 
tives. Many of these crabs are of the most gorgeous col- 
ors,, some purple and red, others blue and red ; they are 
exceedingly wild, and swift of foot. They live close to 
the sea, and may be seen on the shore in great numbers 
during the night. 

I wish I had had time to spare to study these crabs 
more thoroughly than I have done, but I have told you 
the little I know about them. 

As we returned we had to pass through the midst of 
the tremendous herd of hippopotami which I have men- 
tioned. For years that herd had taken possession of an 



PADDLIXG AMONO IIIFF0P0TA3a. 93 

immense mud-bauk lying between tlie island and the 
main land, or rather the tongue of land which separated 
the sea from the River Fernand Yaz. 

The hippopotami began to grunt, and plunged into the 
water, remaining there for some time, and then would 
come again to the surface, until gradually the navigation 
became dangerous, so much so that we had to be very 
careful, and paddle along the shore for fear of being up- 
set by these huge creatures, who would surge from under 
the water in every direction, and we knew not where the 
next one would rise. Two or three times one rose very 
near my canoe. I did not want to fire at them, for they 
would have sunk to the bottom, and would not have risen 
for two or three days after, and then probably they would 
have been found at the mouth of the river, or been driv- 
en into the sea by the current. By the kind of groan or 
hoarse grunt they gave, I made up my mind that they 
were becoming enraged at having been disturbed, so we 
paddled carefully on until I thought we were at last out 
of their reach. But we were to receive a good fright be- 
fore we had done with them, for I saw a canoe just ahead 
of the one in which I was seated rocking and jerking 
about in an extraordinary manner, and the people in it 
shouting at the top of their voices, and there came up a 
huge hippopotamus, which gave a terrific grunt, immedi- 
ately responded to by the other hippopotami we had left 
behind. AYe paddled hard in order to get out of the. 
way, for the huge creature seemed to be maddened ; and 
at last, with a thankful heart, I left all the hippopotami 
behind, and, after some severe paddling, we reached a 
safe place on the bank of the river, wdiere a general and 
grand cooking of the crabs began. 




CHAPTEE XII. 

STEANGE SPIDERS. THE HOUSE-SPIDEE. HOW THEY CAP- 
TURE THEIR PREY. HOW THEY FIGHT. EIGHT BETWEEN 

A WASP AND A SPIDER. THE SPIDER HAS ITS LEGS CUT 

OFF, AND IS CARRIED AWAY. BURROW SPIDER WATCHING 

FOR ITS PREY. 

Now I must pause a little in that great jungle, and re- 
count to you some of the queer things which I have seen 
among the spiders — the burrowing spiders, the house-spi- 
ders, the wall-spiders, and the spiders which weave their 
big and far-spreading webs among the trees of the forest 
or the tall grass of the open fields. I hope you will feel 
as interested as I did when you learn how smart many 
of them are. 

There are a very great variety of spiders in the coun- 
try I have explored. Some are of queer shape. Each 
species has its peculiar habits. I often wish I had de- 
voted more of my time to the study of their habits, and 
to ascertaining the way in which they catch their prey; 
but what I have observed I will relate to you. I will 
speak to you first of the house-spiders, and what I saw of 
them. 

In many of the little huts where I lived, the walls of 
which were made of the bark of trees, there were always 
several house-spiders, which I took good care not to'kill, 
for they were seemingly inoffensive, only they were great 
enemies to the cockroaches, insects, and flies. Sometimes 
in the evening, when I laid down on my acoco (bed of 



BATTLE BETWEEN A SPIDER AND A COCKROACH. 95 

sticks), by the light of a torch my eyes would rest upon 
the wall, and I would see emerging from some crack a 
queer-looking gray spider, and now and then cockroaches, 
which swarm in the African huts, or some other kind 
of insect, would come out on the walls. Then the spider 
would slyly advance toward the insect, taking great care 
to approach it from behind, in order not to be seen by 
the unsuspecting victim, with which it is soon to engage 
in a deadly struggle, for the spider is brave and vora- 
cious, and is not to be easily frightened by the size of 
its antagonist. 

These house-spiders are of a dull gray, which color as- 
sists in concealing its approach. After leaving its lair 
and getting a good position, it remains perfectly rigid 
and motionless, often for half an hour, waiting for some 
unlucky cockroach to pass by. At last the cockroach 
rushes past. In an instant the spider, with great im- 
petuosity, pounces upon him. Then ensues a tug and a 
battle which is of great interest — a conflict for life on 
the part of the cockroach, a combat for food on the part 
of the spider, which for the time seems more voracious 
and ferocious than a tiger or leopard. The battle is oft- 
en prolonged for more than half an hour. The great 
black African cockroach grows to a large size, and is a 
very strong and formidable opponent for the spider. 
The latter, after pouncing on its victim, fastens on its 
back, and, to prevent being borne oif, clings with two of 
his hairy hind legs, which seem to have little h^oks^ to 
the floor or to the wall. All the cockroach's endeavors 
and frantic exertions are to escape. He tugs and jerks, 
and generally succeeds at fii'st in dragging its enemy off 
for some distance. The desperate struggle goes on, the 



96 L OST IN THE JUXGLK 

spider using all its power and strength. It manages 
again to get a hold with its feet. At last it succeeds in 
fastening its head on the body of the cockroach, and be- 
gins sucking away at the juices of the latter, which, at 
the pain of the first bite, makes the greatest efforts to es- 
cape, for it knows that the deadly struggle has begun. 
Then there would be a tremendous fight. I sometimes 
thought the cockroach would escape, both being exhaust- 
ed. Then would come a pause. Presently the struggle 
would recommence, the spider sucking aw^ay all the time, 
and the poor cockroach at last succumbing, whereupon 
his enemy drags off the body to some corner or hiding- 
place where it can be devoured at leisure. 

Once in the daytime, a few days after seeing the fight 
I have been describing to you, I saw the same spider, for 
I knew its place of hiding, come out after an insect. It 
was creeping sloAvly toward its prey, when a wasp — .one 
of those beautiful, long-legged, and slender wasps, with 
striped bodies, which are so common here — came to at- 
tack the spider. Quickly she fiew over the spider, her 
long legs hanging down and plying between the legs of 
the poor spider, who was now^ in as bad a plight as the 
cockroach was a few days before. In this latter case, 
cunning instead of strength was to be used. 

The wasp kept flying above the spider, moving her long 
legs wdth great rapidity between the legs of the spider, 
while her head was touching that of her opponent, and 
giving a bite from time to time. Then the spider tried 
to run away, but could not, for the long legs of the wasp 
moved between his legs in a backward sort of a way, 
which prevented the spider from advancing. The wasp 
all the time was hovering above the spider with xery 



THE WASP IS VICTORIOUS. 97 

quick motions, her legs moving so fast that I could not 
see all their movements. Suddenly the wasp turned 
round, and put her head down close to the right front 
leg of the spider, to which it gave one or two bites, just 
where it is joined to the body, and the leg dropped down ; 
then she worked away at the head for a few seconds, then 
again turned round and gave a bite or two to the leg 
next to the one that had just been cut, and this dropped 
down also. I had never seen any thing fly so fast. At 
last the poor spider seemed perfectly stunned ; he could 
hardly move. I considered the fight over, and that the 
wasp was victor. Another leg dropped down, and then 
another, all being cut just where they are attached to 
the body, till at last they were all cut down. When the 
last hind leg dropped, the wasp seized the body of the 
spider, and flew away outside of my little hut to devour it. 

I missed my spider very much afterwards, and tlie 
cockroaches had their own way for a few days without 
fear of being devoured, till another house-spider made 
its appearance. 

In one of my little huts there were other species of spi- 
der besides the one I have spoken to you about, whose little 
webs would be built in places where they would be most 
apt to entangle the flies. After these had been caught, the 
spider would immediately come out and suck their blood. 
However small the fly might be, the spider would come, 
and even when only a musquito had been taken, it would 
come, but it would give only one or two sucks, and then 
would go away. You will agree that there must be very 
little to suck out of a musquito that has not been feed- 
ing on a human being. 

In the tall grass which sometimes grows round th( 

E ^ 

V . - 



98 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

village, or in the large open spaces where trees have 
been cut dovv^n, there is found a tremendous big bright 
yellow and black spider, whose web spreads over a space 
of several feet, and so thick and strong is it that, when I 
have got entangled in one, I conld certainly feel a slight 
impediment to my walk, or the moving of my arm. The 
threads of the web are yellow, the same color as one 
part of the spider. This spider belongs probably to the 
genns Mygale. Some of them grow to be of immense 
size ; I have frequently seen them with a body as large 
as a sparrow's egg. 

Happily, the bite of this spider is not dangerous, for 
one day, as I was pursuing a bird and was in the midst 
of a lot of grass, the blades of which stuck to my skin 
and cut me Jike a razor, and I was watching and pursu- 
ing the bird in order not to lose sight of it, I got entan- 
gled in one of these big webs — by far the biggest web 
built by any spider I have ever heard of. I looked 
round to see and get out of the spider's way, but before 
I was aware I got a bite which was almost as painful as 
the sting of a scorpion. In my fright I tumbled -down. 
I had no ammonia with me, consequently I returned at 
once to the village, w^here I had some, but by the time I 
reached home I felt no ill effect, the pain having left me 
a few minutes after the bite. 

These big spiders are said by the natives to make 
these large, spreading webs in order to catch little birds, 
the blood of which they suck. I never saw a bird 
caught, nor even any remains of feathers in the web, but 
from the strength of the web I am certain that many lit- 
tle birds, if once caught, could not get out, and that this 
big spider is fully equal to mastering little birds, for its 



NOW THE SPIDER COMES. 




, ^ 



BIT BY A SPIDEE. 



strength must be very gi*eat if it is as strong in propor- 
tion to its size as other spiders are. 

At any rate, if birds are caught in their webs, it must 
be very seldom. But if their webs do not catch birds, . 
tliey are tremendous traps for flies, wasps, beetles, and 
insects of all kinds ; for I have never long watched one 
of them without seeing some living thing of one kind 
or another caught, and then immediately the big, long- 
legged spider would come swiftly and suck the blood of 
the victim ; two or three suckings would finish up a com- 
mon black fly. They are very voracious, and attack the 
prey with great vigor. 



100 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

They must like the powerful sun, for many of their 
webs are built in the open spaces where Master Sol has 
his own way. The rain can not incommode them as 
lie does us. 

. When one of these webs is finished it will remain per- 
fect a long time ; sometimes it will stand for months be- 
fore the owner begins to make another. 

One day in the forest I spied not far from the ground, 
just by an old dead tree, a little bit of a long-legged spi- 
der waging a terrible conflict with a caterpillar, which, 
without exaggeration, must have been at least thirty or 
forty times larger than the body of the little, slender, 
and long-legged spider. I immediately took from my 
pocket my magnif ying-glass, in order to see better ; then 
saw, about four inches from the ground, spreading from 
under the dead branch of the tree, several threads of a 
web which hung down, embracing a space of four or 
f^\e inches, and ending in one thread as it came near the 
caterpillar. That single thread was entangled in the 
hair of the caterpillar and round its neck, and the cater- 
pillar hung by it. The end of his body scarcely touched 
the ground. Then there was a desperate struggle. I 
suppose the caterpillar, before being caught, was down 
on the ground quietly eating some leaves, and the spider 
dropped down upon it like a wild beast would pounce 
upon its prey. 

I lay flat on the ground to look at the conflict. This 
time the long legs of the spider were of the same use to 
it as were those of the w^asp in the other fight I have 
related. 

For a long w^hile there was a great struggle, the cater- 
pillar shaking and turning round and round as it hung 



CA TERPILLAR A TTA CKED BY A SPIDEE. l Q 1 

by that single thread ; often its body would twist into a 
circle, the end touching the head, when suddenly, at one 
of these twists, the spider, by some dexterous movements, 
spun one of its threads round the caterpillar, binding the 
tail to. the head. The caterpillar, by a desperate effort, 
broke the thread, and freed the lower part of its body. 
The spider was so small that I had to use the magnify- 
ing-glass all the time in order to watch its movements. 
At first the attention of the spider was entirely engaged 
in securing its prey. When the caterpillar was strug- 
gling hard to disentangle itself, it would come down 
and spin thread after thread round the hairy body of its 
victim, and then unite them to the single thread. 

Now and then, with its pincers, which appeared 
through the magnif)^ing-glags to be very large in com- 
parison with the size of the body, it would try to cut the 
large pincers of the caterpillar. The end of its long- 
legs, as they came round the head and eyes of the cater- 
pillar, seemed to annoy it terribly, to judge by the strug- 
gles of the worm. At last the spider succeeded in seiz- 
ing the base of the right pincer of the caterpillar, and 
tried to cut it, but in vain. In less than fifteen seconds 
it returned to the task, and went at the left pincer, but 
with apparently no better success. Then, after a while, 
its attacks were directed to a spot between the pincers. 
lie kept at it and kept at it, apparently sucking the 
blood, till finally, after thirty-seven minutes of deadly 
conflict, the caterpillar, a mammoth in comparison with 
the size of the spider, hung dead. Then the spider fin- 
ished sucking the blood of its victim. While the spider 
was carrying on this deadly combat, it did not mind me 
when I touched its web with a little stick: it would just 



102 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

ascend the single thread by which it was suspended, and 
then, within a few seconds, would return to the fight. 
After the caterpillar had been killed, when I touched 
the web it would go up, and remain there for a long 
time — three or four minutes — before it came down. Fi- 
nally I took hold of the caterpillar ; down came the spi- 
der, and with him part of his web. The spider ran 
along the ground for a few inches, then suddenly rolled 
itself into a ball and lay apparently dead, the legs being 
twisted round the body. It appeared to me that the spi- 
der thought a wasp was going to attack it, and thus pro- 
tected itself. 

After a little while I came to look at the poor dead 
caterpillar, and saw a few ants hard at work carrying it 
off somewhere to be devoured. 

Among the great many species of spiders there are 
some which are very curious. Among the most remark- 
able are those which burrow hales in the ground and 
live in them. These ground-spiders are short, and have 
230werful fangs and legs. 

Several species of spiders have short legs, and flat, oval 
bodies, surrounded by pointed spurs, looking, when taken 
from their webs, more like bugs than veritable spiders. 

The cave in which the burrow spiders live is but a 
few inches long, built in the shape of a tube, from the 
opening of which they watch for their prey. The inte- 
rior of the burrow is like felt, and is so arranged that it 
forms a tunnel that prevents the earth from falling in. 

Some"\>f the burrow spiders are called trap-door spi- 
ders, on account of the curious way in which the entrance 
of their abode is guarded. A trap-door closes the en- 
trance. This door is made of the same material as the 



THE BURROW SPIDER. 1 q ;i 

interior of the tube, to which it is attached by a kind of 
hinge, by which it falls squarely upon it. This trap-door is 
made to protect the spider from its enemies, among which 
are wasps and many species of ants. These latter some- 
times make short work of a spider. 

This door is a marvel ; the outside is generally cov- 
ered with earth similar in color to the ground by whick^ 
it is surrounded,' thus rendering it difficult to find the, 
burrow. 

Trap-door spiders are found in many parts of the world. 

But many species of spiders live in burrows that have 
no doors. 

Some of these burrow spiders go out at night as well 
as in the daytime, but they hardly ever move far from 
their burrows. I have often seen them watching from 
the entrance of their caves for prey. How queer they 
look ! They must have a wonderful sense of hearing, 
for at the least noise they run back inside of their bur- 
rows. They seem to know when the noise does not come 
from an enemy, but from some insect upon which they 
intend to prey. One day one of these burrow spiders 
was watching for its food, when suddenly it pounced 
upon a big caterpillar which had made its appearance/ 
and, after a desperate struggle, the poor caterpillar was 
carried into the burrow, though still alive. 

After half an hour I carefully demolished the burrow, 
and found the spider at the bottom ; the caterpillar w^as 
partly devoured, and I saw the remains of legs, wings, 
and heads of insects which had been captured and eaten 
up. I took the spider out ; it seemed stupefied, and 
walked to and fro as if it did not know where to go. 

When once a spider has built its burrow it dwells ii^ H 




104 , LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

for a long time. These burrows are built in such a man- 
ner that when it rains the water can not get in. 

Have you ever thought, when looking at the web of a 
spider, what an admirable piece of work it is, and how 
this thread is manufactured? No lace is more beauti- 
fully worked. The thread is formed by a semi-liquid 
secretion, which comes out, at the will of the spider, 
through minute apertures, and which hardens into a 
thread by contact with the atmosphere. 

How strange that is ! 

Spiders must have a great amount of knowledge, and 
are, no doubt, good barometers, for when a storm is im- 
pending they never will build or mend a web. There is 
a good reason for tlieir not being extravagant in the use 
of their silk, for, although they can use at their will the 
secretion from which the thread is made, it requires time 
to reproduce it ; so when you see a spider spinning new 
webs, it is a sign of fine weather coming. 

H you look closely at the web of a spider, you will sure- 
ly be surprised at their wonderful skill. First a net-work 
of strong threads is built ; these are the main beams, and 
between them the net made of smaller thread is spun. 
These webs are exceedingly elastic, for they have to re- 
sist the power of the wind. "When the web has been long 
built, and has become stretched, they will sometimes go 
and fetch a little piece of wood, which they hang by a 
thread, and4iaul it to a spot where they think it will 
steady their structure. 

The threads of spiders are produced from an organ 
called the " spinneret," which is placed at the extremity 
of the body. The spinnerets are arranged in pairs, and 
are four, six, or eight in number. 



HOW A SPIDER WORKS. 105 

The spider generally works at its web with its head 
dowiij lowering itself by its thread. The whole is work- 
ed by the sense of touch, the threads being guided by 
one of the hind legs. If you take the trouble to watch a 
spider working, you will see it work just as I liave de- 
scribed. 

The semi-liquid secretion is forced out through very 
small apertures, which may be called miniature tubes ; 
they look very much like very minute hairs. These tubes 
cover the spinnerets, which are externally like little 
rounded projections, but their shape is not always the 
same. The threads become quite strong, for after leav- 
ing the tubes they are united together, and hence are 
much stronger than if the thread was composed of a sin- 
gle strand. 

E2 




CHAPTEE XIII. 



WE CONTINUE OUE WANDERINGS. JOINED BY ETIA. WE 

STARVE. GAMBO AND ETIA GO IN SEARCH OF BERRIES. 

A HEED OF ELEPHANTS.^THE ROGUE ELEPHANT CHARGES 

ME. HE IS KILLED. HE TUMBLES DOWN NEAR ME. 

STORY OF REDJIOUA. 

Now we have left the land-crabs and the spiders, let 
lis continue our wanderings in the jungle. I am ran- 
sacking the. forest to discover and understand all that is 
in it. We had a lot of fun at that time. I was in good 
liealth and spirits. I was perhaps a little reckless, and 
did not seem to care for any thing. When there was 
danger in an .undertaking, I frequently did not think 
enough about it, but rather took delight in it, scorpions, 
centipedes, and venomous serpents being the exception, 
for I rather objected to them, and did not fancy meeting 
them in my hunt, or under my bed, nor, indeed, any 
where else. Whenever I could, I killed them without 
mercy. 

I delighted to sleep under the trees, in the midst of 
the thickest part of the forest, and where savage beasts 
were plentiful. In that case I always kept a sharp look- 
out, and saw that our tires were kept blazing. 

Friend Etia had come to meet us, and was going to 
join us in the woods for a few days, and we were all glad 
to see him. One day, while we were hunting, we came 
to a spot where large quantities of fern were growing 



ELEPHANT TRA CKS ARE SEEN. 107 

under the tall trees, and we saw that in the morning a 
large herd of elephants had been there, for their heavy 
footprints were strongly marked on the ground. Im- 
mediately there- was great rejoicing, for we knew that 
the elq^hants could not be far off. 

How eager were the faces of Malaouen, Querlaouen, 
and Gambo. They looked at their guns as if to say, '' I 
hope you will help me to kill an elephant." The guns I 
ga\e them were their great pets. 

Gambo and Etia had gone away through the jungle, 
and were to remain two days collecting berries and nuts, 
and then they were to come back to us. We were in 
a sorry plight — we were starving. We could not wait 
for them, for fear that, while waiting, the elephants 
would move off. AV^hat a pity ! each of us might bag an 
elephant. By the way, should I say bag ? When I was 
a boy I used to bag squirrel ; that is to say, put them in 
my bag. 

It was about three o'clock when we came upon the 
tracks of the elephants. What a number of them must 
be together ! " There must be at least twenty," whisper- 
ed Malaouen. " There must be at least thirty," said 
Querlaouen. Malaouen insisted there were only twen- 
ty. Then I had my say, and I said I thought there were 
about twenty-five. We tracked them till five o'clock, and 
then concluded that we had better have our camp built 
where we were, rather than go too near to them. 

Being the dry season, we were not afraid of rain or 
tornadoes, so we chose a place to lie down, under a gi- 
gantic tree, as there we would only require a fire in front 
of us, our backs being protected by the tree, and the leop- 
ards would have less chance at us, and we would not 
have to build so manv fires. 



108 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

In tlie evening we furbished our guns, chose the steel- 
pointed bullets we used for elephants, and then went to 
sleep on the dry ground. 

During the night we were awakened by a tremendous 
crashing of trees all round us, and we saw elephants 
bounding in the forest like wild bulls, tearing every 
thing before them, and then disappearing through the 
darkness. They seemed perfectly mad. 

Malaouen shouted, " Chaillie ! the bashikouays are 
coming; let us make a big fire. He had hardly said 
this when I heard the tremendous roar of a male gorilla, 
then the piercing shrieks of his female, followed by the 
cries of a young gorilla. 

We immediately scattered the fire-wood we had light- 
ed. It was high time, for the bashikouay were coming. 
The insects began flying over our heads. Happily, we 
were in the midst of a fortress of fire. yj.' 

In less than half an hour they had gone on their 
march, and the forest became as silent as the night itself. 

We had had a narrow escape. If it had not been for 
the timely warning of the elephants, we should have been 
obliged to clear out double-quick through that jungle in 
the middle of the night. It would have been no joke. 

" The bashikouay have driven away every thing before 
them. What will become of our elephants ?" I said. 
" They may have gone a great distance, and it may take 
us five days to overtake them. I wish the bashikouay 
liad gone somewhere else." 

We went to sleep again, and when we awoke it was 
broad daylight. The birds were singing, and the sun's 
rays peeped through the dark foliage.. 

I was really annoyed, for I was sure the elephants had 



MEET TWENT Y ELEPHANTS. 109 

gone a long way off. We could not pursue them, I 
thought, for it would take so much time that Etia and 
Gambo might return and not find us. Then Malaouen 
said that the elephants had probably gone back among 
the ferns, and we had better try to find them there. He 
was not mistaken, for when we went back there we saw 
at once that their footsteps were in that direction. 

We traveled slowly in the dense jungle, now and then 
fi'ightening a guinea-fowl. At other times we would 
see a snake running away before us, or ^^^e would meet 
a strange insect or a queer butterfly, ^pilalaouen, who 
this time walked ahead of me, suddenly turned round 
and made me a sign to stop, and then he came near me, 
his feet appearing not to touch the ground ; I could not 
hear them. He whispered to me the word njogoo (ele- 
phant). I started, I looked round, I could not see any, 

« and I could not understand how Malaouen could have 
seen them. His quick ear had heard the sound of the 
footsteps of one. We advanced carefully. At last I 
saw the elephants lying quietly on the ground. I coimt- 
ed twenty of the huge beasts, and among them I recog- 
nized a tremendous bull elephant. What a sight it was ! 
On a sudden the elephants got up, and they all retreated 
slowly through the forest, with the exception of the old 
bull, who stood still. I think I still see him, with his 
long ears, his big tusks, his thick, wrinkled black skin, 
covered with scattered and short hair. Malaouen and I 

^ lay flat on the ground, as flat as we possibly could. It 
was no child's play. We were to have a little business 
to transact with the bull, the fighting one of the herd. 
If we missed him he would charge us, and, what made it 
worse, we could not get a good shot at the huge and le- 



110 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. f 

viathan-like creature. Presently Malaonen crawled for- 
wai-d ; I lay still. How he could crawl without making 
a noise I could not tell, but he did it, till at last he al- 
most came under the elephant's body. The elephant 
was looking toward me, and Malaouen had succeeded in 
approaching from behind. I w^as thinking that if Ma- 
laouen did not kill the elephant where he stood, I would 
run the risk of being charged by him and trampled to 
death, unless I shot the beast dead upon the spot. I felt 
like shouting to Malaouen to be careful, and not to miss 
his shot at the elephant. When his gun rose, it rose 
slowly but surely; then I heard a tremendous detona- 
tion, and down the elephant came in my direction, close 
upon me. I fired, and the monster fell just in front of 
where I was lying. Three or four yards more,- and he 
w^ould have tumbled down upon me, and probably made 
a pancake of your friend. Querlaouen came rushing to 
the rescue, but the great beast lay without motion. Quer- 
laouen had killed him. I had shot the elephant right be- 
tween the two eyes, which is not a good spot, while Quer- 
laouen's bullet had gone right into his body through the 
lower part of the belly. 

We looked like ants by the side of that huge creature. 
We cut his tail off, and then returned to our old camp, 
which was not far distant, where we were to meet Etia 
and Gambo. 

In the afternoon they came in, and when w^e showed 
them the elephant's tail they looked at us with a,maze- 
ment, as if they did not believe their own eyes. Then 
they shouted, "You are men! you are men!" They were 
loaded with wild nuts, and thus we were to have plenty 
of food ! 




DF.ATU OF THE BULT. ELF.PHANT. 



112 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

In despite of my best endeavors to prevent it, there 
must be some heathen ceremonies to celebrate onr vic- 
tory over the elephant. 

The hind quarters were cut off, and, with a piece of the 
flesh, were set apart and carried into the forest for the 
spirit Alombo to feed upon. Then my men muttered 
some words that I could not understand, but I did not 
care, for we were very much like the man who, when 
traveling in India, received an elephant as a present, 
and did not know what to do with it. 

The next day, after taking as much elephant meat as 
we could, we moved away, for the flies were coming 
pretty thick ; and besides, the bashikouay might return 
again, and the smell would not be of the pleasantest 
after a couple of days' sojourn by the body of the dead 
elephant. 

So we started for another part of the forest, and built 
our camp several miles farther to the north of the place 
where we had been. Of course we chose a spot where 
there was a beautiful little stream, so that we had plenty 
of good water to drink. The next morning we were to 
go hunting, and we were glad to be all tc^ether again, it 
was so nice. We busied ourselves smoking our elephant 
meat, so that we might be sure of having food for a good 
many days, though we should not And any berries. 

We furbished our guns, and had a real nice day in get- 
ting ready for some grand hunting. Nothing during the 
night disturbed us, and the next morning we all felt strong 
and refreshed. Querlaouen and I went hunting together, 
while Malaouen and Gambo went oif in another direc-- 
tion. 

We were really lost in that great jungle, and yet we 



THE STOR T OF REDJIO UA. 113 

appeared to think that the forest belonged to us. We 
were to come back toward sundown ; no one was to 
camp out by himself. That was the law I made that 
day. The country was hilly, and under the tall trees the 
ground was covered with a dense jungle. That day noth- 
ing was seen, and toward night we w^ere glad to rest our 
weary limbs by the huge pile of blazing fire, and then w^e 
went to sleep, hoping to be more fortunate the next time. 
Our supper was composed of a few wild berries, but chief- 
ly of elephant meat, my men enjoying the elephant mar- 
velously. After our supper, and before we went to sleep, 
Querlaouen got up and said, " Now I am going to tell you 
a story." 

KEDJIOUA, A KING.— AKENDA MBANI. 

" Long ago, long before our fathers lived, in a far 
counti-y there lived a king called Redjioua. That king 
had a daughter called Arondo. Arondo (sweetheart) was 
beautiful — more beautiful than all the girls of the coun- 
try. Redjioua said to the people, ' Though a man would 
ask my daughter in: marriage, and present me' with a 
great many sMves, goats, and tusks of ivory, so that he 
might " soften" my heart to have her, he can not have 
her. I want only a man that shall agree that, when 
Arondo will be ill, he must be ill also ; that when Aron- 
do dies, he must die also the same day.' 

" Years passed by ; no one came to ask Arondo in 
marriage, for all were afraid of the law the king had 
made, no one being willing to die when she died." 

I questioned Querlaouen, " Did Arondo ever marry ?" 

" Wait a little while and you will hear," said friend 
Querlaouen, as gently as he could. 



114 LOST IX THE JUNGLE. 

'^ There was a man in that country called Akenda 
Mbani (never goes twice to the same place)." Many 
names among the tribes of Equatorial Africa have a 
meaning, and remember that Akenda Mbani's means 
" Never goes twice to the same place." 

" Akenda Mbani came to the king and said to him, ' I 
come to marry Arondo, your daughter, the one you have 
{tend coni) made a law concerning ; so I have brought 
no ivory, or slaves, or goats. I come without the things, 
for I agree to die when Arondo dies.' 

"So Redjioua gave his beautiful daughter, the pride 
of his heart, the loveliest woman of his dominion, to 
Akenda Mbani. 

" Akenda Mbani was a great hunter, but, as his name 
implied, he never went twice to the same place in the 
forest to hunt. But his name did not prevent his mov- 
ing about his own village. 

" After he had married Arondo, he went hunting, and 
one day he killed two wild boars, after which exploit he 
returned to the village of his father-in-law, carrying one 
of the boars on his back. He went to Redjioua and 
said, ' Father, I have killed two wild boars ; I bring you 
one.' The king said, ' Thank you, my son ; go and fetch 
the other.' Then Akenda Mbani replied, ^ When I was 
born, my father, in giving me my name of Akenda Mba- 
ni, gave me a coni (a law) never to go twice to the same 
place.' So the other wild boar was lost, as no one could 
tell where it was to be found in the forest. 

" Then he went hunting again, and killed two ante- 
lopes. Of course Akenda Mbani said he could not go 
and fetch the other." 

Then Gambo interrupted the story by saying, " The 



AKENDA MBANL 115 

king knew very well that Akenda Mbaui could not go 
twice to the same spot ; why did lie ask him to go ?" 

" I can not say wh}^," said Querlaouen ; " I tell you 
the story as it has come to lis from our forefathers." 

" Shortly afterward Akenda Mbani killed two beauti- 
ful hongos, and brought one back. Then the people 
came and asked him to show them the way, so they 
might fetcli the other. But Akenda Mbani said, ' You 
know that if we do not keep the coni our father gave 
us, we are sure to die. I do not wisli to die for a bon- 
go, so I can not go.' He thus went shooting month after 
month, but would never go back to the same spot. 

" One fine evening, as Akenda Mbani was seated in 
front of his house, tlie people came to him and said, ' A 
people called Oronngous have come ; they have come to 
trade, and also to buy ten slaves.' 

" Akenda Mbani turned to his wife and said, ' Let us 
go and meet the Oronngous, who are still in their canoe 
on the river-bank, and who have come to be my guests.' 

"Then they went and met the Oronngous. Akenda 
Mbani took a chest of goods, and put the chest on the 
head of his wife, and he himself took a sword, and they 
returned to their home, leaving the Oronngous on the 
beach. 

"A moon (month) passed away since the Oronngous 
had left, and the chest which the Oroungous had brought, 
and which Arondo carried to her house, had not been 
opened. One evening Arondo said to her husband, ' Let 
us go and see what is in the 'chest.' So they went and 
took the cover off, and inside they discovered the most 
beautiful things, that had come from the wliite man's 
country. The chest was quite full of beautiful cloths. 



116 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

Arondo desired her husband to take two fathoms of one 
beautiful cloth, as she liked it. So Akenda Mbani cut 
off two fathoms. The chest was then closed again, and 
they left the place. 

"Then Akenda Mbani seated himself on an ebongo 
(stool), and Arondo on the acoco (bed), and she began to 
sew. She had only pierced the cloth four times with her 
needle when she exclaimed, ' Husband ! husband ! I be- 
gin to have a headache !' Akenda Mbani replied, ' Take 
care, take care. Do not be sick if you do not wish me 
to die ;' and he looked her steadily in the face. Arondo 
called again, ' Akenda Mbani ! Akenda Mbani ! my hus- 
band, do tie a string round my head, for I have a great 
deal of pain.' Then Arondo tied a string round her hus- 
band's head also, though he had no headache. 

" In a short time Arondo began to cry again, for she 
suffered greatly, and her headache was getting worse and 
worse. Akenda Mbani was becoming frightened, for he 
did not want to die. 

" The news of Arondo's illness spread all over the vil- 
lage, and soon reached the ears of King Bedjioua, her 
father. The whole people of the village came to see 
Arondo, and many were around her when she was crying 
and calling on her father. The king said, ' Do not cry, 
my daughter ; you will not die, my child.' As soon as 
Arondo heard this, she moaned, ' Ah father ! ah father ! 
why did you say I will not die, for you know that if you 
daga (mourn, lament, fear) death it is sure to come.' 

She had hardly uttered these words when she died. 
The people mourned and wept, putting their hands over 
their heads. 

" Eedjioua said, ' As my daughter is dead, Akenda 



BURIAL OF AKENDA MBANI. 117 

Mbani must die also.' Akenda Mbani answered, ' I will 
die, that I may be buried with Arondo, my wife.' So 
Akenda was killed. 

" The king ordered a slave to be buried alive wdth his 
daughter. There were also placed in her grave ten dishes, 
ten jars full of palm wine, ten baskets, ten tusks of ivory, 
and many other things, among which was the chest of 
the Oroungous." 

There was a dead silence among us all, for we wanted 
to hear the end of the story. Querlaouen stopped for 
breath, and then continued : 

" The place where the people are buried is called 
Ndjimai, and here they laid the bodies of Akenda Mba- 
ni and of Arondo, side by side in one grave, laying over 
them the spears of Akenda Mbani, his battle-axe, the bed 
upon which he and his wife had dept, his cutlasses, and 
his hunting-bag. Tlien the people said, ' I^ow let us cover 
the grave with sand,' which they did until a little mound 
was formed. 

"Then Agambouai (this name means the speaker of 
the village) said, ' King, there are leopards here.' As 
soon as Redjioua heard this, he cried, 'Do not build a 
mound over the grave of my child, for fear that leop- 
ards may see it, sci-atch up the earth, and eat the body of 
my beautiful daughter.' 

" They replied, ' Let us take the things back and dig a 
deeper grave.' Then they took away the things, and 
seated the bodies of Arondo and Akenda Mbani on two 
seats. When they had finished their work, and thought 
the grave deep enough, they replaced all the things they 
liad taken out. Then they lifted the body of Arondo 
and laid her gently in the grave. Xext they took hold 



118 



LOST m THE JUNGLE. 



of Akenda Mbani, and raised him gently to place him by 
the side of his wife ; but he opened his eyes and mouth, 
and said, ' Don't you know I never go twice to the same 
place ? If any of you attempt to place me again in the 
tomb, I will kill him, for you know I never go twice to 

THE SAME PLACE.' 

"He then rose, and, accompanied by the people, re- 
turned to the village ; and when Redjioua saw him he 
said, 'How is it that Akenda Mbani has returned?. I 
thought he had been killed and buried.' 

" Up to the time of Redjioua, when a husband or wife 
died, the survivor was killed ; but Akenda Mbani broke 
the law by rising again from the grave. Since then, no 
one is killed on account of the spouse dying." 

From this legend, which has been handed down from 
generation to generation, I conclude that perhaps at a re- 
mote period it was compulsory for both husband and 
wife to die at the same time. 

After a hearty laugh at the lucky escape of Akenda 
Mbani, my men thanked tl^eir stars that they were not 
born at that time, and then we all went to sleep. 




CIIAPTEE XIY. 

A FOK'NnDABLE BIRD. — THE PEOPLE AEE AFRAID OF IT. 

A BABY CARRIED OFF BY THE GUANIONIEN. A MONKEY 

ALSO SEIZED. 1 DISCOVER A GUANIONIEN NEST. 1 WATCH 

FOR THE EAGLES. 

Several weeks have passed away since the story of 
Akenda Mbani was told us, and we have since been wan- 
dering through the forest in the midst of the intricate 
hunting-patlis which Querlaouen knew so well. At night 
we would all meet and recount the adventures of the 
day, and eat the game which some of us had been fortu- 
nate enough to kill. In case we had killed no game, 
then we had our elephant meat to fall back upon. 

How silent the forest was ! InT ot a human being be- 
sides ourselves was to be seen. A leaf falling, a bird 
smging, a wild guinea-fowl calling for its mate, the foot- 
steps of a gazelle, the chatter of a monkey, the hum of a 
bee, the rippling of the water of some beautiful little 
stream as it meandered through the forest, were the only 
noises that ever disturbed the stillness of this grand sol- 
itude. 

Now and then we could hear the wind whispering 
strangely as it passed gently amid the branches of the 
tall trees hanging over our heads. 

We must have looked strange indeed as we wandered 
through that great forest, where God alone could see us. 



120 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

How strange every thing seemed to me ! I was in an- 
other world, and novel objects every where met my eyes. 

One morning I hear a strange cry high up in the air. 
I look, and what do I see ? — what do I see yonder up in 
the sky ? An eagle. But what kind of an eagle ? for it 
appears to me so much larger than any eagle I have ever 
met with before. And as I asked this, my men exclaim- 
ed, "It is a guanionien • the leopard of the air ; the bird 
that feeds on gazelles, goats, and monkeys ; the bird that 
is the most difficult of any to find and to kill." " Yes," said 
Querlaouen ; " in my younger days I remember that my 
wife and myself were on our plantation, with some of 
our slaves, and one day we heard the cries of a baby, and 
saw a child carried up into the sky by one of these guani- 
onienso The baby had been laid on the ground, and the 
guanionien, whose eyes never miss any thing, and which 
had not been noticed soaring above our heads, pounced 
on its prey, and then laughed at us as he rose and flew to 
a distant part of the forest." Then Querlaouen showed 
me a fetich partly made of two huge claws of this bird. 
What tremendous things those talons were! how deep 
they could go into the flesh ! 

Then came wonderful stories of the very great strength 
of the bird. 

The people were afraid of them, and were compelled 
to be very careful of their babies. These grand eagles do 
not feed on fowls ; they are too small game for them. 
Monkeys are what they like best ; they can watch them 
as they float over the top of the trees of the forest ; but 
sometimes the monkeys get the better of them. 

" People had better not try to get hold of the guani- 
onien's young if they want to keep their sight," said Gam- 



THE G UANIONIEN IN THE SET. 1 o x 

bo ; " for, as sure as we live, the old bird will pounce 
upon the man that touches its young." 

For a long time I had heard the people talking of the 
guanionien, but had never yet had a glimpse of one. 

Now, looking up again, I saw several of them. How 
high they were ! At times they would appear to be quite 
still in the air; at other times they would soar. They 
were so high that I do not see how they could possibly 
see the trees ; every thing must have been in a haze to 
them ; monkeys, of course, could not be seen. They were, 
no doubt, amusing themselves, and I wonder if they tried 
to see how near they could go to the sun. Some at times 
flew so high that I lost sight of them. 

Oh, how I longed to kill a guanionien ; but I never 
was able to do it. Once I examined one, but it was 
dead, and had been killed by spears as it had come down 
and seized a goat. The natives had kept it for me ; but 
when I returned to the village it was quite spoiled and 
decomposed, the feathers having dropped out. 

Several times I was on the point of killing one, but 
never was in time. 

My men went hunting that morning, while I remained 
alone in the camp, for I felt tired, and wanted to write 
up my journal, and to describe all the things I had seen or 
heard during the past few days. 

In the afternoon I thought I would ramble round. I 
took a double-barreled smooth-bore gun, and loaded one 
side with a bullet in case I should see large game ; the 
other barrel I loaded with shot ISTo. 2. Then I carefully 
plunged into the woods till I reached the banks of a lit- 
le stream, and there I heard the ciy of the mondi {Colo- 
l)us Satanus), which is one of the largest monkeys of 

F 



122 



LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



these forests. From their shrill cries, I thought there 
must be at least half a dozen together. I was indeed 
glad that I had one barrel loaded with big shot. If the 
mondis were not too far off, I would be able to get a fair 
shot, and kill one. >• 




I advanced very cautiously un- 
til I got quite near to them. I 
could then see their big bodies, 
long tails, and long, jet-black, 
shining hair. What handsome 
beasts they were! what a nice- 
looking muff their skins would 



make ! I thought. * 



D WN IT CAME. 123 

Just as I was considering which of them I would fire 
atj I saw some big thing, like a large shadow, suddenly 
come down upon the tree. Then I heard the flapping 
of heavy wings, and also the death-cry of a poor mondi. 
Then I saw a huge bird, -with a breast spotted somewhat 
like a leopard, raise itself slowly into the air, carrying the 
monkey in its powerful finger-like talons. The claws of 
one leg were fast in the upper part of the neck of the 
monkey ; so deep were they in the flesh that they were 
completely buried, and a few drops of blood fell upon the 
leaves below. The other leg had its claws quite deep 
into the back of the monkey. The left leg was kept 
higher than the right, and I could see that the great 
strength of the bird was used at that time to keep the 
neck, and also the back of the victim, from moving. The 
bird rose higher and higher, the monkey's tail swayed to 
and fro, and then both disappeared. It was a guanio- 
nien. Its prey was, no doubt, taken to some big tree 
where it could be devoured. 

The natives say that the first thing the guanionien 
does is to take out the eyes of the monkeys they catch. 
But there must be a fearful struggle, for these mondis 
are powerful beasts, and do not die at the eagle's will. 
There must be a great trial of strength ; for if the mon- 
key is not seized at an exact place on the neck, he can 
turn his head, and he then inflicts a fearful bite on the 
breast of the eagle, or on his neck or leg, which disables 
his most terrible enemy, and then both, falling, meet their 
death. 

I looked on without firing. The monkeys seemed par- 
alyzed with fear when the eagle came down upon them, 
and did not move until after the bird of prey had takei . 



124 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

one of their number, and then decamped. When I look- 
ed for them thej had fled for parts unknown to me in 
the forest. I was looking so intently at the eagle and 
its prey that for a while I had forgotten the mondis. I 
do not wonder at it, for monkeys I could see often, but 
it is only once in a great while that such a scene as I 
witnessed could be seen by a man. It was grand ; and I 
wondered not that the natives called the guanionien the 
leopard of the air. As I write these lines, though sev- 
eral years have passed away, I see still before me that 
big, powerful bird carrying its prey to some unknown 
part of the forest. 

Long after the time I have been speaking to you 
about, I was hunting in the forest, when I came to a spot 
where I saw on the ground more than a hundred skulls 
of various animals, and of monkeys of all sizes, from 
those of baby monkeys to those of large mandrills ; and 
there were two or three skulls of young chimpanzees. 
What a ghastly sight it was ! Some of these skulls seem- 
e(J almost fresh ; they were skulls of all the species of 
monkeys found in the forest. 

What could all this mean ? I quickly perceived that 
these skulls were all scattered round a huge tree which 
rose higher than any of the trees surrounding it. Rais- 
ing my eyes toward the top, I saw a huge nest made of 
branches of trees. I looked and looked in vain. I could 
not even hear the cries of any young birds. They had 
gone; they must have left their nest, and I wondered if 
they would come back at night with the old folks ; so I 
concluded that I would lie in wait. 

I waited in vain. The sun set, and no guanionien ; 
darkness came, and no guanionien. Then I took a box 



/ A M A LL AL ONE. 123 

of matches from my liuiiting-bag, and set fire to a large 
pile of wood which I had made ready, and then I cook- 
ed a few plantains I had with me. 

I was all alone ; I had taken no one with me. How 
quiet and silent every thing was around me that night ! 
Kow and then I could hear the dew that had collected on 
the leaves above come down drop after drop. I could 
see a bright star through the thick foliage of the trees. 
I could hear the music of the musquitoes round me ; for 
I think there is something musical about the buzzing of 
a musquito, though there is nothing pleasant about 
its bite. I could see now and then a beautiful and 
bright fire-fly, which seemed to be like a light flitting 
through the jungle from place to place, sometimes re- 
maining still and giving a stream of light all round as 
it rested on some big leaves for a while, then moving far- 
ther on. 

Now and then I could hear the mournful cry of the 
owl, and at times I fancied I could hear the footstep of 
wild beasts walking in the silence of night. 

I did not sleep at all that night ; I did not wish to do 
so ; and, as I was seated by the fire, I thought of the 
strange life I had led for some time past — how strange 
every thing was from what I had been accustomed to see 
at home. There was not a tree in the forest that we had 
in ours, and the face of a white man had not been seen 
by me for a very long time. 

The night passed slowly, but at last the cries of the 
partridges reminded me that daylight was not far ofF. 
When the twilight came, it was of very short duration ; 
the birds began to sing, the insects to move about, the 
monkeys to chatter, but the hyena, the leopard, and jo*^^- 



126 ^ ^^T IN THE JUNGLE. 

er night - animals had retired long before the sunlight 
into their dens. 

Then I got up and roasted a plantain, which I ate ; 
forthwith I shouldered my gun and started back for the 
village by a hunting-path that I knew. 

Coming to the banks of a stream, where the water was 
as pure and limpid as crystal, I seated myself by the 
charming rivulet, thinking I would refresh myself by 
taking a bath, when lo ! what do I see ? a large snake 
swimming in the water. Its body was black, and its 
belly yellow, with black stripes. I immediately got up 
and fired at the disgusting creature, which I killed ; and 
that water, which appeared to me a few minutes before 
OQ nice, was, to my eyes, no longer so. 




CHAPTEE XY. 



THE CASCADE OF NIA3IA-BIEMBAI. A NATIVE CAMP. — START- 

ENG FOR THE HUNT. A AIAN ATTACKED BY A GORILLA. 

HIS GUN BROKEN. THE MAN DIES. HIS BURIAL. 

After wandering tlirongh the forest, at times coming 
back to the Bakalai village for food, Gambo suggested 
that we should go and see his father, who w^as an Ashira 
chief, and who had built an olako in the forest not far 
from the Bakalai village of Ndjali-Coudie. 

We traveled through the forest until we reached a 
beautiful cascade, called Niama-Biembai. How grace- 
fully l^iama-Biembai wanders through the hills, falling 
from rock to rock ! Its bed is gravelly, and its water 
clear and pure, like some !N^orthern brook. How I loved 
to look at Xiama-Biembai, and, by the gentle noise its 
waters made in falling, to think of friends who were far 
away ! 

Just in sight of this charming cascade was the encamp- 
ment of Gambo's father, whom I had met before. We 
were received witlt great joy by the people. The even- 
ing of my arrival the olako was busy with preparations. 
Meat was scarce — very scarce; gouamba (liunger for 
meat) had seized the people, and the great hunters were 
getting ready for the hunt, and the people were joyful 
in the belief that plenty of game would be brought into 
the camp. 



128 L OST IN TEE JUNGLE. 

In the evening the hunters spoke with hollow and son- 
orous voices, and called upon the spirits of their ances- 
tors to protect them. They covered themselves with the 
chalk of the Alumbi, and then bled their hands. 

Then we seated ourselves round the fire, and the eleven 
hunters who were going with me began to tell their won- 
derful stories. 

The next morning we made for the hunting-paths. 
Seven men were to go off in one direction for gazelles, 
and three others, among whom I was one, were to hunt 
for gorillas. Malaouen and Querlaouen went by them- 
selves ; Gambo and another man accompanied me. 

Before starting, Igoumba, the chief of the Olako, told 
us to be careful, for there were some bad and ferocious 
gorillas in the woods. After walking some distance, we 
finally made toward a dark valley, where Gambo said we 
should find our prey. We were soon in one of the most 
dense jungles I ever met in Africa. My poor pantaloons 
received several rents from the thorns ; at last one of the 
legs was taken clean off, so I was left with one-leg panta- 
loons. We were at times in the midst of swamps, so this 
was one of the hardest days I had had for a long time. 

The gorilla chooses the darkest and gloomiest forest 
for his home, and is found on the outskirts of the clear- 
ings only when in search of plantains, bananas, sugar- 
cane, or pine-apples. Often he chooses for his peculiar 
haunt a wood so dark that, even at midday, one can 
scarcely see ten yards. Oh young folks ! I wish you 
could have been with me in some part of that great 
jungle, then you could have seen for yourselves. 

Our little party had separated. My friends Malaouen 
and Querlaouen said they were going to seek for elephants. 



FEARFUL ENCOUNTER. 129 

Gambo, his friend, and myself were to hunt for gorillas. 
Ganibo and I kept together ; for really, if I had lost him, 
I should never have found my way back. All at once 
Gambo's friend left lis, saying that he was going to a 
spot where the tondo (a fruit) was plentiful, and there 
might be gorillas there ; so he went off. 

He had been gone but a short time when I heard a 
gun fired only a little way from us, and then I heard the 
tremendous roar of the gorilla, which sounded like dis- 
tant thunder along the sky. The whole forest seemed 
filled with the din. Oh how pale I must have looked ! 
a cold shudder ran through me. When I looked at 
Gambo, his face looked anxious. We gazed in each 
other's faces without saying a w^ord, but instinctively we 
made for the spot where we had heard the roar of the 
gorilla and detonation of the gun. When I first heard 
the gun I thought the gorilla had been slain, and my 
heart was filled with joy ; but the joy was of short dura- 
tion, for the roar immediately followed, to tell us that the 
gorilla was not dead. 

Then through the forest resounded once more the 
crack of a gun, and immediately afterward the most 
terrific roars of the beast. He roared three times, and 
then all became silent ; no more roars were heard, no 
more guns w^ere fired. This time Gambo seized my arm 
in great agitation, and we hurried on, both filled with a 
dreadful and sickening alarm. We had not to go far be- 
fore our worst fears were realized. We pressed through 
the jungle in search of our companion, and at last found 
him. The poor brave fellow, who had gone off alone, 
was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, and, 
I at fii'st thouglit, quite dead. Beside him lay his gun ; 

F2 



130 L OST IN THB JUNGLE. 

the stock was broken, and the barrel bent ahnost double. 
In one place it was flattened, and it bore plainly the 
marks of the gorilla's teeth. 

Yes ; the huge monster, in his rage, had bitten the bar- 
rel of the gun^ and his powerful teeth had gone fiercely 
into that piece of steel. What a face he must have made 
as he held the barrel of that gun between his tremendous 
teeth ! how he must have gnashed them with rage ! how 
the wrinkles on his old face must have shown out ! It 
must have been one of the most horrid and frightful 
pictures that one could ever behold. 

Lowering my body and putting my ear to his heart, I 
remained for a while pale and speechless. At last I dis- 
covered that his heart beat. Oh how glad I was ! 

I immediately tore to pieces the old shirt I wore — it 
was one of the last I possessed — and the remaining leg 
of my pantaloons, and began to dress his wounds. I 
never was much of a surgeon, so I felt somewhat awk- 
ward and nervous. Then I poured into his mouth a lit- 
tle brandy, which I took from the small flask I always 
carried with me in case of need, which revived him a 
little, and he was able, with great difiiculty, to speak. 
And then he told us that he was walking in the jungle 
just where the tondo grew, when he suddenly met, face 
to face, a huge male gorilla. As soon as the gorilla 
saw him he was literally convulsed with rage, and rushed 
at him. It was a very gloomy part of the wood, and 
there were a great many barriers between him and the 
gorilla. It was almost quite dark in that thicket, but he 
took good aim, and fired at the beast when he was aboitt 
eight yards oif. The ball, he thought, had wounded him 
in the side. The monster at once began beating his 



THE A TTA CK OF A G ORILLA, 131 

breast, giving three most impressive roars, which shook 
the earth, and, with the greatest rage, advanced upon him. 

To run away was impossible. He would have been 
caught by the muscular arm of the gorilla, and held 
in his powerful and giant hand, before he could have 
taken a dozen steps in the jungle. " So," said the poor 
fellow, " I stood my ground, and reloaded my gun as 
quickly as I could, for the gorilla was slowly but steadily 
advancing upon me. j^s I raised my gun to fire, the go- 
rilla, which was quite close to me, stretched out his long 
and powerful arm, and dashed the gun from my grasp. 
It struck the ground with great violence and went off. 
Then, in an instant, and with a terrible roar, the animal 
raised his arm and came at me with terrific force. I 
was felled to the ground by a heavy blow from his im- 
mense open paw." 

Here the poor fellow tried to raise his arm to his abdo 
men, and continued : " He cut me in two ; and while I lay 
bleeding on the ground, the monster seized my gun, and 
I thought he would dash my brains out with it. That is 
all I remember. I know that I am going to die." 

This huge gorilla thought the gun was his enemy, so 
he had seized it and dashed it on the ground, and then, 
not satisfied, had taken it up again and given it a tremen- 
dous bite — a bite which would have crushed the arm of 
a man more easily than we crush the bones of a young 
spring chicken. 

The great strength of the gorilla seems to lie in that 
big, long, and gigantic muscular arm of his, and in his 
ifnmense hands — which we may call paws — with which 
he strikes, the hand always being almost wide open as it 
strikes. 



132 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

When we reached the spot the gorilla was gone, so 
Gambo blew his antelope-horn, calling npon the other 
men to rejoin us. We then made, with branches of trees, 
a kind of bed, laying lots of leaves over it, npon which 
we carried the poor fellow back to the camp of the 
Ashiras. 

I still remember the heart-rending, piercing wail I 
heard when I entered the camp ; how his poor wife came 
rushing out to meet him, holding his hand and crying, 
" Husband, do speak to me — do speak to me once more !" 
But he never spoke again, for at last his heart ceased to 
beat, and he was dead. He had been killed by a gorilla. 

How sorry I was. I felt truly unhappy. They entreat- 
ed me to give the poor fellow medicine. They seemed 
persuaded that I could prevent his dying ; but I was far 
from my head-quarters, where all my medicines were, 
and I had nothing to suit his case. 

The people declared, with one accord, that it was no 
true gorilla that had attacked him, but a man — a wicked 
man that had been turned into a gorilla. Such a being 
no one could escape, for he can not be killed. 

The next morning I got up, and, taking my large bag, 
put into it provisions for three days, adding two or three 
pounds of powder, with forty or fifty large bullets. I 
took my best gun, and placed, as usual, my two revolvers 
in the belt fastened round my waist, then painted my 
hands and face with powdered charcoal, mixed with 
palm oil, so that I might appear black. I took Querla- 
ouen with me, telling Iiim that I must kill that gorilla. 
Querlaouen, at first, did not want to go, " for," said he, 
" we will never be able to kill that man gorilla." But 
Querlaouen always obeyed me. 




QAMBO'S rElEND KII.T.KP BT A GOSTLLA. 



134 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

We proceeded at once into the thick of the jungle, 
making for the spot where the poor man had been mor- 
tally wounded. I felt very sorry when I saw the place 
where the man had been killed. A flush came over my 
face. " Thou shalt be avenged !" I muttered. I looked 
at my gun with ferocious joy ; I held it up, and fondled 
it, and I must have looked fierce, for poor Querlaouen 
appeared terrified. " Yes," said I to Querlaouen, " I shall 
kill that very gorilla." 

I followed for a while the tracks of the beast by the 
marks of blood he had left on the trunks of the trees, 
but these became less and less noticeable as I removed 
from the scene of that sad catastrophe. Finally I lost 
those bloody hand-prints; but then I followed closely, 
and with great care, other marks he had left in the jun- 
gle as he went along. At times I would entirely lose 
these signs of the huge monster, then I would find them 
again. I lost them finally, and I searched and searched, 
but they were not to be seen. I had evidently gone 
astray. I was so annoyed, so disheartened ; for I had 
set my heart on killing that gorilla, and I was on the 
point of giving up the chase. Querlaouen kept a few 
hundred yards from me, and he could see no traces of 
the gorilla. 

Suddenly, and by sheer carelessness, I had stepped on 
a dead branch of a tree, and broke it. Of course, the 
breaking of that dry limb made a noise. Immediately 
I heard a tremendous rush in the jungle, and then saw 
an intensely black face peering through the leaves. The 
deep, gray, sunken eyes of the great beast seemed to emit 
fire when they got sight of me. Then he scattered the 
jungle with his two hands, raised himself (for he was on 



THE GORILLA ATTACKS ME. 135 

all-foui*s) on his hind legs, gave from that huge chest one 
of his deep, terrific roars, which shook the whole adja- 
cent forest, and rushed toward me, showing his immense 
teeth as he opened his mouth. 

I had never before seen a gorilla come so quickly to 
the attack as did this one. He walked in a waddling 
manner, his two arms extended toward me, his body bent 
in the same direction, and it seemed to me that at any 
moment I might see him tumble down on his face. This 
feeling was caused by his peculiar walk. 

I was calm, but it was the calm that precedes death 
—the feeling that in one minute more I might be a dead 
man. I am sure not a muscle moved in my face. I 
was steady, and said to myself, " Paul B. Du Chaillu, you 
will never go home if you do not kill that creature on the 
spot, and before he has a chance to get hold of your poor 
body." 

As he approached nearer and nearer, I know that I 
was cool and determined, but felt that within a few sec- 
onds all might be over with me ; for, if the diabolical 
creatm-e once had me in his grasp, he would crush me to 
death. 

Here he is, only five yards distant, but the jungle is so 
thick that if I fire my bullet may strike the limb of a 
tree. I wait. I feel that I am as pale as death. I have 
raised my gun to my shoulder, and follow the movements 
of the beast, all the time with it pointed at his head. 
Now he is only four yards distant ; I mean his body, for 
his arms are extended toward me, and are much nearer. 

I wait a little longer. He has made one step more to- 
ward me ; he is within three yards and a half of me. In 
three or four seconds more he will be a dead gorilla or 



136 -^ OST m THE JUNGLE. 

I a dead man. Just as he opened his mouth to utter an- 
other of his frightful roars, and I could feel his breath 
on my face, I fired, and shot him right through the heart. 

He gave a leap, and fell, with a fearful groan, quite 
dead, his long, powerful arm almost reaching me as he 
lay extended on the ground, as if ready to clutch me; 
but it fell short by a few inches. 1 drew a heav}^ breath, 
for my respiration had become short through excitement. 
I had a narrow escape, for if the gorilla's hands in fall- 
ing had reached me they would have lacerated me ter- 
ribly. 

Querlaouen was perfectly wild. While the gorilla 
was coming to the attack, he cried out with his powerful 
voice several times, and with all his might, " Kombo, 
come here if you dare ! come here !" He gave a tre- 
mendous shout as the gorilla fell, advanced toward the 
dead monster, fired right into his body, and then whirled 
round toward me. I thought he had become insane, he 
looked so wild. 

When we went up to the gorilla he was quite dead. 
His eyes were wide open, his lips shut, and his teeth 
clinched together. When I took hold of his hand a cold 
shiver ran through me, it was so big. The hand of Goli- 
ath, the giant, could not have been any larger. 

When we returned to the camp, and told how we had 
slain the gorilla, there was immense rejoicing. Soon aft- 
er a number of men went with Querlaouen to fetch the 
monster, and when it made its appearance in the village 
the people became intensely excited, and it was all I 
could do to prevent them from hacking the body to 
pieces. I am happy to say, however, that 1 was able to 
bring this big specimen to New York. 



CHAPTEE XYI. 

FUNERAL OF THE GOEILLA's VICTIM. A MAn's HEAD FOK 

THE ALU^ilBI. THE SNAKE AND THE GUINEA-FOWL. 

SNAKE KILLED. VISIT TO THE HOUSE OF THE ALUMBI. 

DETERMINE TO VISIT THE SEA-COAST. 

Now the people were to bury the man who had been 
killed by that big gorilla. His kindred arrived to get 
the body to carry it to his village. Every man had his 
body and face painted in all sorts of colors. They also 
wore their fetiches, and looked like so many devils com- 
ing out of the woods. 

After traveling the whole day we came to a strange 
village on the top of a hill, at the foot of which there 
was a beautiful little stream, the water of which never 
dried durino; the season when there was no rain. 

As soon as we made our appearance the sounds of 
wailing and weeping filled the air. The body was taken 
to the house of the deceased, where his widows— for he 
had three wives — mourned, and wept, and cried so that I 
felt the greatest sympathy for them. 

At sunset silence reigned in the village. All the wom- 
en had gone into their huts, while the men seated them- 
selves on the ground or on their little stools. But sud- 
denly a great wailing rent the air, and from every hut 
came lamentations — sounds tliat were heart-rending. 
Then they sang songs, praising the departed one — songs 



138 i OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

such as I have described to you young folks in " Stories 
of the Gorilla Country." 

At last, after two days, six stout men, covered with 
fetiches and painted in the most fantastic manner, came 
to take the body, to leave it in the woods under some big 
tree. 

As soon as they were ready the tam-tams began to 
beat, and songs of sorrow were chanted as they disap- 
peared from the village. I followed the body, for I 
wished to see what they would do. After a while we 
got into the jungle, and soon came to a spot where the 
body was left. A fire was lighted by its side, no doubt 
with the idea of keeping him warm; then some boiled 
plantains, and a piece of cooked elephant and some 
smoked fish, were put in a dish of wicker-work and 
placed at his head. All the while the men kept mutter- 
ing words I did not understand. 

The day after the funeral, toward sunset, while I was 
looking for birds in the forest, trying to obtain some new 
specimens which I might never have seen before, I fell 
in with the brother of the deceased, and saw that he 
was carrying something carefully packed — something 
which I could not make out. I asked him what it was. 
At first he replied, " ISTothing." Then I said, " You must 
tell me." Thinking that I was getting angry, he then 
answered, " Moguizi, I will tell you what it is. It is the 
head of my hrother who was buried yesterday, and I have 
just been to get it." "The head of your brother !" I ex- 
claimed; "and why have you cut off the head of your 
brother ?" " Because," he answered, in a low whisper, 
" my brother was a great hunter, a mighty warrior, and 
I want to put his head in the house of the Alumbi. Mo- 



8XAKE A TTA CKS A Q UINEA-FO WL. 139 

guizi, do not tell any one that you have seen me with 
this head, for we never tell any one when we do this 
thing, though we all do it. After we have been in the 
village I will show you the house of the Alumbi." 

So I let him go back to his village, and I went hunting 
for my birds. 

As I was returning to my home in the village, I stopped 
on the bank of the little stream, and there I perceived 
a very large snake enjoying a bath. As the water was 
quite clear, I could see him perfectly. I thought I would 
watch his movements rather than kill him. 

The back of this snake was black, and his belly striped 
yellow and black. It was of a very venomous kind, and 
one most dreaded by the natives. I could not help a 
cold shudder running through me as I looked at the rep- 
tile. By-and-by it came out of the water and remained 
still for a little while. Then I saw a beautiful Guinea- 
fowl coming toward the stream to drink. How beauti- 
ful the bird looked ! I have before described it in " Sto- 
ries of the Gorilla Country." He came toward the water, 
and just as it stood on the brink of the little stream, 
ready to drink, I saw the huge snake crawling silently 
toward the bird. It crawled so gently that I could not 
even hear the noise its body made as it glided over the 
dead leaves that had fallen from the trees. It came 
nearer and nearer, and it certainly did not make the 
noise that it does when not in search of prey. 

The poor Guinea-fowl, in the mean time, was unaware 
of the approach of its enemy, and how greatly its life 
was in danger. So it lowered its neck and dipped its 
bill into the water ; once, twice, and the snake was get- 
ting nearer and nearer ; thrice, and the snake was close at 



140 L OST m THE JUNGLE. 

baud ; and now the snake began to coil itself for a spring. 
Then the bird took one drink more, and just as it turned 
its head back its eyes met those of the snake, which stood 
glaring at the bird. The poor Guinea-fowl stood still, 
moving not a step, and it was not more than half a yard 
from the snake, when suddenly the monster sprang with 
a dart on the poor bird, and before I had time to wink, 
part of its shiny black body was round the fowl. 

How pitiful were the cries of the poor Guinea-fowl ! 
Quick, quick, quick, and all was over. The snake's 
mouth distended, for he had begun to swallow the bird 
by the head. Just then I fired in such a way as not to 
hit the snake, and in his fright he disgorged the bird and 
left him and the field, crawling out of the way as quick 
as possible. This time I could hear the noise of the 
leaves. Indeed, it went off very fast, and I was just on 
the point of losing sight of it, when I managed to send a 
load of shot into its body, breaking the spine, as it was 
about half way across the stream. Then I took a look 
at the dead Guinea-fowl. Toward the neck the feathers 
were very slimy from the snake-froth. The snake was 
now twisting about in all directions, but could neither 
advance nor retreat, for you know that, its spine being 
cut, it could not swim, and therefore soon died. 

I picked up my Guinea-fowl, cut off the head of the 
snake, made a parcel of its body, and took the trophies 
of my day's sport into the village, where I gave a treat 
to some of my friends. 

Soon after my return I went to see my friend Oyagui, 
who told me in a most mysterious way to wait, and that 
he would show me the house of the Alumhi on the next 
day. 



A HO USE OF THE AL UMBL 141 

The next morning I did not see Oyagui, but toward 
sunset he came with the same mysterious air, and told 
me to come with him. Then he led me to the rear of 
his hut, where there was a little dwarfish house, which 
we entered. There I saw three skulls of men resting on 
the ochre with w^hich he rubbed his body. One cake 
was red, another yellow, and another white. There lay 
the skull of his father, of an uncle, and of a brother. As 
for the fresh head he had cut the day before, it was not 
to be seen. There were several fetiches hung above the 
skulls — fetiches which were famous, and had led his an- 
cestors to victory, gave them success in the hunt, and had 
prevented them from being bewitched. One of these 
fetiches had two claws of the eagle called gumiionien^ 
and three scales of an animal called ijpi^ an ant-eater, the 
scales on which are very large and thick. This ipi I had 
thus far never been able to see, though I had heard of it. 
In the hut was also a plain iron chain, and in the fore- 
ground the remains of a burning fire. Oyagui never 
spoke a word, and after looking round I left, and he 
closed the door, which was made of the bark of trees. 

The people of the village were comparatively strange, 
and regarded me with some fear. That day there was a 
new moon. In the evening all was silent ; hardly a whis- 
per could be heard. The men had painted their bodies, 
and there was no dancing or singing, so I retired to my 
hut, and was soon soundly sleeping. 

By this time I began to feel tired of my hard and ex- 
citing life, and thought of gradually returning toward the 
sea-coast. In the morning I had made up my mind to 
leave, and made preparations accordingly, and on tlie 
following day I bade these people good-by, and started 
on my return. 





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CHAPTEE XYII. 

AT WASHINGTON ONCE MORE. — DELIGHTS OF THE SEA-SHOEE. 

1 HAVE BEEN MADE A MAKAGA. FRIENDS OBJECT TO 

MY RETURN INTO THE JUNGLE. QUENGUEZA TAKEN SICK. 

GIVES A LETTER TO HIS NEPHEW. — TAKING LEAVE. 

Time passed away. In the mean time I had retm-ned 
to Washington, that beautiful little village I had built 
near the sea-shore on the banks of the Fernand Yaz Riv- 
er. I brought down the innumerable trophies of my 
wanderings while "lost in the jungle" — gorillas, chim- 
panzees, kooloo-kamba, and other animals ; also reptiles. 
The birds could be counted by thousands, the other speci- 
imens by hundreds, all of which I carefully stored. 

Every day I would cross the tongue of land separating 
the Fernand Yaz from the sea, and would go and look 
at the deep water of the ocean. My eyes would try to 
look far into the distance, in the hope of spying a sail. 
There was no vessel for me. I was still alone on that 
deserted coast of the Gulf of Guinea. 

I loved to steal away from Washington, and seat my- 
self all alone on the shore, and look at the big, long, roll- 
ing billows of the surf as they came dashing along, white 
with foam ; the booming sound they gave in breaking 
was like music to me. It was so nice to have left that 
everlasting jungle ; to see prairie land and the wide ex- 
panse of the Atlantic; to look at the sun as it disap- 



AM MADE A MAKA GA. 143 

peared, apparently under the water. How grand the 
spectacle was ! I loved to look at the gulls, to hear their 
shrill cries, for these cries were so unlike those of the 
birds of the great forest. There was also something very 
invigorating in that strong sea breeze that came from the 
south and southwest. Beyond the breakers I could see 
now and then the fins of some huge sharks searching for 
their prey ; sometimes they would hardly appear to move, 
at other times they swam very fast. 

The time had not yet come for me to return to New 
York. I must go back again into the great jungle; I 
must discover new mountains, new rivers, new tribes of 
people, new beasts, and new birds ; I must have more 
fights with gorillas, more elephant-hunting. I would be 
so glad to see Qnerlaouen, Malaouen, and Gambo. 

Wliile I was in the interior, the Commi people, in great 
council, had made me a makaga^ which title only one 
man, and he generally the best hunter and bravest, may 
bear. The ofiice of the makaga is to lead in all desper- 
ate frays. He is the avenger of blood. H any one has 
murdered one of his fellow-villagers, and the murderer's 
•townspeople refuse to give him up (which almost always 
happens, for they think it a shame to surrender any one 
who has taken refuge with them), then it is the office of 
the makaga to take the great warriors of the tribe, to at- 
tack and destroy the village, and cut off the heads of as 
many people as he can. 

If any one is suspected of being a wizard, and runs 
away from his village, it is the business of the makaga 
to follow and capture him. In that case he is a kind of 
sheriff. In fact, he has to see that the laws are exe- 
cuted. 



1 44 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

It was only among the Commi that I heard of a ma- 
kaga. 

So you may conceive I did not care to be a makaga, 
and in a great meeting of the chiefs I declared I could 
not be. But they all shouted, " We want you, the great 
slayer of beasts, to be' our makaga ; we want you to stay 
with us all the time." 

I was getting well and strong again, for I had taken a 
long rest. I concluded I must go again into the jungle. 

My good friend Ranpano said, " Why do you wish to 
go back into the forest ? If you go again to countries 
where not one black man has ever gone before, we shall 
never see you again. I have heard that the people want 
you ; they only desire to kill you, for they want to get 
your skull ; they want to make a fetich of your hair. 
They have many fetiches, but they want one from your 
hair and brain. We love you ; you are our white man. 
What you tell us to do, we do. When you say it is 
wrong, we do not do it. We take care of your house, 
your goats, your fowls, your parrots, your monkeys, and 
your antelopes ;" then shouted with a loud voice, " We 
love you !" 

To which all the people answered, " Yes, we love him. 
He is our white man, and we have no other white man." 

Then the king continued : " We know that writing 
talks ; write to us, therefore, a letter to prove to your 
friends, if you do not come back, that we have not hurt 
you ; so that when a vessel from the white-man country 
comes, we can show your letter to the white men." 
These poor people had an idea that every white man 
must know me like they knew me. 

Finally, when they saw I was bound to go once more 



Q UENG UEZA IS VER Y ILL. 145 

to the jungle, tliey gave me up, all exclaiming in accents 
of wonder, " Ottangani angani (man of the white men), 
what is the matter with you that you have no fear? God 
gave you the heart of a leopard ; you were born without 
fear!" 

Just as I was making the final preparations for my 
departure, a great trial came upon me. Quengueza, who 
had accompanied me fo the coast, became dangerously 
ill. There were murmurs among the up-river people. 

I began to despair of his life. All the medicine I 
gave him seemed for a while to do him no good, and he 
became thinner and thinner every day, till at last he 
looked almost like a skeleton. 

How anxious I felt ! Was my great and beloved Af- 
rican friend to die ? What would the people say ? for I 
had brought him down from his country. They would 
surely say that I had killed their king. I could not make 
out what would be the end if so great a misfortune was 
to happen. The murmurs of the people, which had al- 
ready began, caused me sad forebodings of the future. 

But there was still a bright sj)ot. 

Quengueza knew that, even if I could, I would not 
make him ill ; he knew I loved him too well, and eveiy 
day he would declare that whoever said that I had made 
him ill was a liar. And one morning I heard him pro- 
test that the man who would say that his friend Chally 
had made him ill was a wizard. Of course, after such 
talk, the people took good care to keep their tongues 
quiet. 

Finally he got better and better, and became stronger. 
Wliat a load of anxiety was removed from m}^ mind ! 

I felt that I must go now ; the rainy season was com- 

G 



146 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

ing on. Quengueza was not strong enongh ; besides, he 
wanted to remain, for he had business to transact with 
some of the sea-shore chiefs after he was well enough to 
go about. 

So Quengueza called one of his nephews of the name 
of Itapero, and as these people do not write, he gave him 
" his mouth ;" that is to say, he sent word to his brother, 
or, as I discovered after, to his nephew, who reigned in 
his stead in Groumbi, to give me as many people as I 
wanted ; and he ordered that his nephew Adouma must 
be the chief of the party who were to accompany me in 
the Ashira country, and to take me to Olenda, the king 
of that people/ 

My dear little Commi boy Macondai was to come with 
me, and he was the only one at the sea-side Quengueza 
would allow to return. 

Then, when all was ready for our departure, I went to 
bid good -by to my two best friends in Africa, King 
Ranpano and King Quengueza. I have told you before 
how much I loved King Quengueza, the great chief of 
the Rembo River. In the x->resence of all the people, 
having his idol by his side, covered with the chalk of the 
Alumbi, he took my two hands in his, the palms of our 
hands touching each other. Then he invoked the spirits 
of his ancestor Kombe Ricati Ratenou, and of his moth- 
er Mavi, marking me on the forehead with the Tnjpeshou 
(ochre) of his mother Niavi ; then he invoked her spirit, 
for his sake, to protect me, his great friend. He invoked, 
also, the spirits pf his ancestors who had done great deeds 
to follow me once more in the jungle where he and his 
people had never been, so that no one could hurt me. 

There was a dead silence when the old chief spoke. 



SPIRITS TO FOLLOW 3IE. 



14V 



M \:l 







BIDDING GOOD-BY TO QUENGUEZA. 



After pausing a wMle, he took a piece of wild cane, 
which he chewed ; then put in his mouth a little piece of 
the nvpeshou, and chewed the two together. He then 
spat the stuff he had chewed on me and round me, still 
holding my hands, upon which he breathed gently and 
said, " May the spirits of my ancestors, as the wind that 
I have blown upon you, follow you wherever you go." 
And then he shouted with a tremendous voice, " Niavi, 
Kombe Kicati Ratenou, be with my white man in the 
jungle where he goes !" 




CHAPTER XYIII. 



DEPAETUEE. — AEEIVAL AT GOUMBI. — THE PEOPLE ASK FOE 

THE KING.- — A DEATH PANIC IN GOUMBI. A DOCTOE SENT 

FOE. DEATH TO THE ANIEMBAS. THEEE WOMEN AC- 
CUSED. THEY AEE TEIED AND KILLED. 

Aftee receiving Quengueza's blessing I jumped in 
our canoe, and soon the merry sound of the paddles was 
heard, and once more I ascended the river. The breeze 
was fresh, the tide was coming in, and every thing was 
in our favor. 

The sickness of Quengueza had delayed me so much 
that it was now October. We were in the middle of the 
rainy season, and it was not very comfortable weather 
for traveling. 

My outfit was composed chiefly of powder, shot, bul- 
lets, beads, looking-glasses, bracelets of brass and co23per, 
and a lot of trinkets for presents, and also some fine' 
pieces of prints and silks, with a few shirts and coats, for 
the chiefs. I had also a clock and a musical box. 

When we reached Goumbi, the head village of Quen- 
gueza's dominions, we were pretty well tired out, for on 
our way we had encountered two very heavy rain-storms, 
preceded each by a tornado. The people, not seeing him 
with me, asked after their king, Quengueza, crying out, 
" Our king went with you, why have you not brought him 
back? When he went with you he was well, why has he 
been sick?" 



SICKNESS OF MP02W. 149 

Then one of the Idng's nephews gave me Quengueza's 
house, and Mombon, his head slave, came to receive my 
orders. Old friend Etia came also, and I was delighted 
to see him. 

Toward sunset I heard a good deal of drumming, and 
songs being sung to Abambou and Mbuiri. I knew at 
once by these songs that somebody was very sick. It 
proved to be Mpomo, one of the nephews of the king. 
Mpomo was a great friend of mine ; his wives and his 
people had always given me plenty of food, and if you 
Jiave not heard of him before, it is because he was neither 
a hunter, a man of the jungle, nor a warrior. 

I was asked to go and see him. The people had spent 
the night before drumming by the side of the bed where 
he lay, to drive the Abambou and the aniemba away ; 
that is to say, the devil and witchcraft. On entering the 
hut, I was shocked at the appearance of my old friend. 
I could see, by his dim eyes, that ne was soon to die, and 
as I took hold of his wi'ist and touched his pulse, I found 
it so weak that I was afraid he could scarcely live througli 
the approaching night. As he saw me, he extended his 
hands toward me (for I had taught these people to shake 
hands), and said, in such a pitiful and low voice, " Chally, 
save me, for I am dying !" 

In his hut and outside of it were hundreds of people, 
most of them moved to tears, for they were afraid that 
their friend, one of the leading men of the tribe, and one 
of the nephews of their king, was going to die. His 
^vives were by his bedside, and watched him intently. 

I said to him, " Mpomo, I am not God ; I am unable 
to make a tree turn into a fish or an animal. I am a 
man, and my life is in the hands of God, as yours is. 



150 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

You must ask God, and not your fetiches, to make yon 
well." Unfortunately, they all thought I could make 
him well. His friends insisted that I should give him 
medicine. At last I gave him some. In that country 
I was afraid to give medicine to men who were very 
sick. This will seem strange to you, bnt you will not 
wonder at it when I tell yon that these savages are very 
superstitious. If the sick person got well after I had 
given him the medicine, it was all right ; but if he got 
woi'se, then I was blamed, for they said, " If he had not 
taken the medicine of the white man instead of our own, 
he wonld have got well." 

I warned them that I thought Mpomo could not get 
well. I loved him as well as they did, and felt very sor- 
ry. But they all replied, with one voice, " Mpomo will 
not die unless somebody has bewitched him." 

Early the next mornine*, just before daybreak, the wail- 
ings and mournful songs of the natives rent the air. The 
whole village was in lamentation. Poor Mpomo had just 
died; he had gone to his long rest. He had died a poor 
heathen^ believing in idols, witchcraft, fetiches, and in 
evil and good spirits. 

How monrnful were their cries! "All is done with 
Mpomd ! We shall never see him again ! He will never 
speak to us any more ! We shall not see him paddle his 
canoe any more ! ' He will walk no more in the village !" 

At the last moment, wiien a Commi man is dying, his 
head wife comes and throws herself beside him on his 
bed, and surrounds his body with her arms, telling him 
that she loves him, and begging him not to die. As if 
the poor man wanted to die ! 

I immediately went to Mpomo's hut. I saw his poor 



THE PEOPLE AFRAID OF EA CH OTHER \ 5 1 

wives in tears sitting upon the ground, throwing moist- 
ened ashes and dust over their bodies, shaving their hair, 
and tearing the clothes they wore into rags. Kow and 
then they took the lifeless body of poor Mpomo in their 
arms ; at other times they would kneel at his motionless 
feet, and implore him to open his eyes and look at 
them. 

As soon as the news of Mpomo's death spread in the 
village, there was great excitement from one end of it 
to the other. Fear was on every face ; each man and 
woman thought death was soon to overtake them. Each 
one dreaded his neighbor ; fathers dreaded their sons and 
their wives ; the sons their fathers and mothers ; brothers 
and sisters were in fear of each other. A panic of the 
wildest kind had spread among the people of Goumbi ; 
neitlier men nor women were in their senses. They fan- 
cied themselves surrounded by the shadow of death, and 
they saw it ready to get hold of them and carry them 
away to that last sleep of which they were so afraid. 

The people talked of nothing but witchcraft, of wiz- 
ards, and witches. They were sure that Mpomo had been 
bewitched. 

Two days elapsed befoi^e Mpomo was buried, and then 
a large canoe came, and Mpomo's relatives took the body 
down the river, where the cemetery of the Abouya clan 
was situated. This cemetery was some fifty miles down 
the river, beyond Quayombi. 

As the body was placed in the canoe, the people of the 
whole village mourned. The shrieks of his wives were 
heart-rending, and it was, who should show the greatest 
sorrow among the people ; for every one was afraid of 
being accused of aniemba (sorcery) ; for if they did not 



152 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

appear very sorry, they would be sure to be suspected of 
being aniembas (sorcerers). 

Immediately after the departure of the funeral pro- 
cession, every man came out armed to the teeth, their 
faces betokening angry fear, all shouting and screaming, 
" There are people among us who kill other people. Let 
us find them out. Let us kill them. How is it — Mpomo 
was well a few days ago, and now Mpomo is dead ?" A 
canoe was then immediately dispatched among the Ba- 
kalai in order to get a celebrated doctor, who had the 
reputation of being able to discover wizards at once. 

The excitement of the savages became extreme. They 
wanted blood. They wanted to find victims. They 
wanted to kill somebody. Old and young, men and 
women, were frantic with a desire for revenge on the 
sorcerers. 

The doctor came. The people surrounded him, shout- 
ing, "We have wizards among us. We have sent for you 
to find them. Do find them out, for if you do not, our 
people will be dying all the time." 

Then the mboundou was prepared. I have described 
it to you before, and how it is prepared. The doctor 
drank a big cup of it in one draught. 

Oh how his body trembled; how his eyes afterward 
became bloodshot, his veins enlarged. How the people 
looked at him with bloodthirsty eyes, and with mouths 
wide open. 

Every man and boy was armed, some with spears, 
some with swords, some with guns loaded to the muzzle, 
some with axes and huge knives, and on every face L 
could see a determination to wreak a bloody revenge on 
those who should be pointed out as the criminals. The 



THE SORCEUESS MUST BE KILLED. 153 

whole people were possessed witli an indescribable fury 
and horrid thirst for human blood. 

I shall never forget the sight. There I stood, alone in 
the midst of this infuriated populace, looking at those 
faces, so frightened, but, at the same time, so thirsty for 
blood. A cold shudder ran through me, for I knew not 
what would come next. I knew not but the whole vil- 
lage of Goumbi might be deluged in blood. 1 am sure 
you would have felt as I did. 

For the first time my voice was without authority in 
Goumbi. ISTo one wanted to hear me when I said that 
nobody must be killed ; that there were no such things 
as sorcerers. " Chally, we are not the same people you 
are. Our country is full of witchcraft. Death to the 
wizards !" shouted they all, in tones which made the vil- 
lage shake. " Death to the aniembas .^" 

They were all surrounding the doctor, as I have said 
before, when, at a motion from the stranger, the people 
became at once very still. ■ Not a whisper could be heard. 
How oppressed I felt as I looked on. This sudden silence 
lasted about one minute, when the loud, harsh voice of 
the doctor was heard. 

The people did not seem to be able to breathe, for no 
one knew if his name would be the one that should be 
called, and he be accused of the crime of witchcraft. 

" There is a very black woman — a young woman — who 
lives in a house having one door only, with a large bunch 
of lilies growing by the door. INot far off is a tree to 
which the ogouloungoK, birds come every day." 

Scarcely had he ended when the crowd, roaring and 
screaming like so many beasts, rushed frantically for the 
place indicated, when, to my horror, I saw them enter the 

G 2 



154 ^ OST IN THE JUNGLE, 

hut of my good friend Okandaga, and seize the poor girl, 
who looked so frightened that I thought she had lost her 
reason. I shouted with all the power of my voice, " You 
are not going to kill the beautiful and good Okandaga — 
the pride and beauty of the village \ ISTo," said I, " you 
are not to kill her." But my voice was drowned. They 
dragged her from her hut, and waved their deadly weap- 
ons over her head. They tore her off, shouting and curs- 
ing, and as the poor, good African girl passed in the 
liands of her murderers, I thought the big tree behind 
which 1 was looking might hide me from her view. But 
lo ! she saw me, and with a terrible shriek she cried, ex- 
tending her arms toward me, " Chally, Chally, do not let 
me die. Do not let these people kill me. I am not a 
witch. 1 have not killed Mpomo. Chally, be a friend 
to me. You know how I have taken care of you — how 
I have given you food ; how often I have given you wa- 
ter." 

I trembled all over. I shook like a reed. It Was a 
moment of terrible agony to me. The blood rushed to- 
ward my head. I seized my gun and one of my revolv- 
ers which was in my belt. I had a mind to fire into 
the crowd — shoot people right and left — send dismay 
among them — rescue dear and kind Okandaga, who was 
now poor and helpless — who had not a friend ; put her 
in a canoe, and carry her down the river. But then, run 
away — where % I too would have murdered peoj^le. Per- 
haps some of the nephews of my friend Quengueza 
would be among tliose I should kill. Then what should 
I say to Quengueza ? They were too frantic and crazed. 
The end would have been, I should have been murder- 
ed without saving the life of Okandaga. How I cried 




• CliALT.V, OUAULY, DO NOT LET ME DIE." 



156 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

that same evening. I remember it so well. I cried like 
a child. I would have given all I had to save Okanda- 
ga's life. 

" After all," said I to myself, " what am I ?" 

They took her toward the banks of the Rembo and 
bound her with cords. 

Quengueza, as 3^ou know, was not in Goumbi. How 
much I wished he had been. 

Presently silence fell again upon the crowd. Then 
the harsh and demon-like voice of the doctor once more 
rang over the town. It seemed to me like the hoarse 
croak of some death-foretelling raven. 

" There is an old woman not far from the king's place. 
She lives in a long and narrow house, and just in front 
of the house are plantain-trees which come from the 
sprouts which were planted by Oganda, the king's eldest 
brother, who is now dead. There is also, back of her 
house, a lime-tree which is now covered with fruit. She 
has bewitched Mpomo." 

Again the crowd rushed off. This time they seized a 
princess, a niece of King Quengueza, a noble-hearted and 
rather majestic old woman. As they crowded about her 
with flaming eyes and threats of death, she rose proudly 
from the ground, looked them in the face unflinchingly, 
and, motioning them to keep their hands off her, said, "I 
will drink the mboundou, for I am not a witch ; and woe 
to my accusers if I do not die !" 

The crowd shouted and vociferated. Then she too 
was escorted to the river, but was not bound. She sub- 
mitted to all without a tear or a murmur for mercy ; she 
was too proud. Belonging directly to the families of the 
chiefs of the Abouya tribes from times of which they 



ONE MORE VICTIM. 15 7 

had no record, she wanted to show that she was not 
afraid of death. Pride was in her features, and she 
looked haughtily at her accusers, who left a strong guard, 
and then went back to the doctor. 

Again, a third time, the dreadful silence fell upon the 
town, and the doctor's voice was heard. 

Oh how I hated that voice ! 

" There is a woman with six children — she lives on a 
plantation toward the rising sun — she too bewitched 
Mj^omo." 

Again there was a furious shout, and the whole town 
seemed to shake under the uproar of voices clamoring 
for vengeance. A large squad of people rushed toward 
a plantatipn not far from the village. They returned 
soon after, appearing frantic, as if they were all crazy, 
and went toward the bank of the river, dragging with 
them one of King Quengueza's slaves, a good woman 
who many and many a time had brought me baskets of 
ground-nuts, bunches of bananas, and plantains. Her 
they took to where the two others were. 

Then the doctor descended the street of the village. 
How fierce he looked ! He wore round his waist a belt 
made from the skin of a leopard ; on his neck he wore 
the horn of an antelope, filled with charmed, powder, and 
hanging from it was a little bell. Round his belt hung 
long feathers of the ogouloungou bird ; on his wrists he 
wore bracelets made from the bones of snakes ; while 
round liis neck were several cords, to which were attach- 
ed skins of wild animals, tails of monkeys, leopards' and 
monkeys' teeth, scales of pangolins, and curious-looking 
dry leaves mingled with land and river shells. His face 
was painted red, his eyebrows white, and all over his body 



158 L OST IN THE JUKGLE. 

were scattered white and yellow spots. His teeth were 
filed to a point, and altogether he looked horrid. I wish 
I could have shot that monster ; but then they all think 
alike — they all believe in witchcraft. He approached 
the women, and the crowd surrounded them. 

Silence again succeeded to that great uproar ; the wind 
seemed to whisper through the boughs of the trees ; the 
tranquil river glided down, whose waters were soon to 
be stained with blood. 

In a loud voice the doctor recited the crime of which 
the three women were accused. Then, pointing to Okan- 
daga, he said that she had, a few weeks before, asked 
Mpomo for some salt, he being her relative. " Salt 
was scarce," said he, looking toward the frantic multi- 
tude, "and Mpomo refused her; she said unpleasant 
words to him, for she was angry that he had refused her 
salt. Then she vowed to bewitch him, and had succeed • 
ed, and by sorcery had taken his life." 

The people shouted, " Qh, Okandaga, that is the way 
you do — you kill people because they do not give you 
what you ask. You shall drink the mboundou ! That 
sweet face of yours is that of a witch. Ah ! ah I ah ! 
and we did not know it." 

The crime of Quengueza's niece came next to be told. 
She had been jealous of Mpomo for a long time because 
he had children and she had none. She envied him ; 
therefore jealousy and envy took possession of her, and 
she bewitched him. 

The people screamed, "How could a woman be so 
wicked as to kill a man because he had children and she 
had none ! We will give you mboundou to drink, and 
we will see if you are not a witch." 



THE WOMEN LED TO THE RIVER. 159 

Quengueza's slave had asked Mpomo for a looking- 
glass. He had refused her, and therefore she had killed 
him with sorcery also. 

As each accusation was recited the people broke out 
in curses. Each one rivaled his neighbor in cursing the 
victims, fearful lest lukewarmness in the ceremony should 
expose him to a like fate. So Okandaga's father, moth- 
er, brother, and sisters joined in the curses. The king's 
niece was cursed by her brothers and sons, and the poor 
slave by every body. It was a fearful scene to contem- 
plate. 

Then a passage was formed in the vast crowd, and the 
three women were led to the river, where a large canoe 
was in waiting. The executioners went in first, then the 
women, the doctor, and a number of people well armed 
with huge knives and axes. 

By this time the sweat ran down my face. I must have 
been deadly pale as I followed each motion of these people. 

Then the tam-tams beat, and the proper persons pre- 
pared the mboundou. 

Quabi, Mpomo's eldest brother, who was to inherit all 
of Mpomo's property, held the poisoned cup. At sight of 
it poor Okandaga began again to cry, and Quengueza's 
niece turned pale in the face, for even the negro face at 
such times attains a pallor which is quite perceptible. 
Three other canoes, full of armed men, surrounded that 
in which the victims were. 

A mug full of mboundou was then handed to the 
old slave woman, next to the royal niece, and last to the 
young and kind Okandaga. As they drank, the multi- 
tude shouted, " If they are witches, let the mboundou kill 
them ; if they are innocent, let the mboundpu go out !" 



160 L OST IN THE JUNGLE, 

It was the most exciting scene in my life. My arrival 
in the cannibal country was as nothing compared with 
this. Though horror froze my blood, my eyes were riv- 
eted upon the spectacle. I could not help it. Suddenly 
the slave fell down. She had not touched the boat's bot- 
tom before her head was hacked off by a dozen rude 
swords, the people shouting " Kill her ! kill her !" Next 
came Quengueza's niece. In an instant her head was off, 
and her blood was dyeing the waters of the river. 

During all this time my eyes had been riveted on poor 
Okandaga. I hoped that she would not fall, but soon 
she too staggered, and struggled, and cried, vainly resist- 
ing the effects of the poison in her system. There was 
a dead silence — the executioners themselves were still — 
for Okandaga was the belle of the village, and had more 
lovers than any body else ; but, alas ! she finally fell, and 
in an instant her head was hewn off. 

Then all was confusion. In an incredibly short space 
of time the bodies were cut in pieces and thrown in the 
river. 

I became dizzy ; my eyes wandered about ; the perspi- 
ration fell down from my face in big drops; I could 
hardly breathe, and I thought I would fall insensible. 
One scene more like this, and I should have become 
mad. The image of poor Okandaga was before me, 
begging me to save her. I retired to my hut, but it felt 
so hot inside that I could not stay. 

When all was over, the crowd dispersed without say- 
ing a word ; the clamor ceased, and for the rest of the 
day the village was silent. 

In the evening my friend Adouma, uncle of Okanda- 
ga, came secretly to my house to tell me how sorry he 



AD DUMA'S HE G RETS. 



161 



was that Okandaga had been killed. He said, " Chailly, 
I was compelled to take part in the dreadful scene. I 
was obliged to curse Okandaga, but what my mouth 
said my heart denied. If I had acted otherwise I should 
have been a dead man before now." 

I tlien spoke to Adouma of the true God, and told him 
that nothing in the world lasted forever. Men, women, 
and children died, just as he saw young and old trees die. 
Often a young tree would die before an old one. Hence 
young men and young women would frequently die be- 
fore older ones. 







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CHAPTEE XIX. 

QUENGTJEZA OEDERS ILOGO TO BE CONSULTED ABOUT HIS ILL- 
NESS. WHAT THE PEOPLE THINK OF ILOGO. A NOCTUR- 
NAL SEANCE. SONG TO ILOGO. A FEMALE MEDIUM. 

WHAT ILOGO SAID. 

What a strange village Goumbi is ! It is well that I 
am the friend of King Quengueza. The people are so 
superstitious. We had hardly got over the affair of 
witchcraft when the people declared they must find 
some means of ascertaining the cause of the king's suf- 
ferings. Quengueza had sent word himself that his peo- 
ple must try to find out from Ilogo why he was sick, and 
what he must do for his recovery. 

Ilogo is believed by the people to be a spirit living 
in the moon — a mighty spirit, who looks down upon 
the inhabitants of the earth — a spirit to whom the black 
man can talk. " Yes," they said, " Ilogo's face can be 
seen; look at it." Then they pointed out to me the spots 
on the moon which we can see with our naked eye. 
These spots were the indistinct features of the spirit. 

One fine evening, at full moon (for, to consult Ilogo, 
the moon must be full, or nearly so), the women of the 
village assembled in front of the king's house. Clustered 
close together, and seated on the ground, with their faces 
turned toward the moon, they sang songs. They were 
surrounded by the men of the village. I shall not soon 



INVOCATWX TO THE MOON. 



163 



forget that wild scene. The sky was clear and beauti- 
ful ; the moon shone in its brightness, eclipsing by its 
light that of the stars, except those of the first magni- 
tude ; the air was calm and serene, and the shadows of 
the tall trees upon the earth appeared like queer phan- 
toms. 




THE SONGS TO ILOGO. 



The songs of the women were to and in praise of Ilo- 
go, the spirit that lived in ogouayli (the moon). Pres- 
ently a woman seated herself in the centre of the circle 
of singers and began a solo, gazing steadfastly at &e 
moon, the people every now and then singing in chorus 
with her. She was to be inspired by the spirit Ilogo to 
utter prophecies. 



164 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

At last she gave up singing, for she could not get into 
a trance. Then another woman took her place, in the 
midst of the most vociferous singing that could be done 
by human lips. After a vs^hile the second v^^oman gave 
place to a third — a little woman, wiry and nervous. She 
seated herself like the others, and looked steadily at the 
moon, crying out that she could see Ilogo, and then the 
singing redoubled in fury. The excitement of the peo- 
ple had at that time become very great ; the drums beat 
furiously, the drummers using all their strength, until 
covered with perspiration ; the outsiders shouted madly, 
and seemed to be almost out of their senses, for their 
faces were wrinkled in nervous excitement, their eyes 
perfectly wild, and the contortions they made with their 
bodies indescribable. 

The excitement was now intense, and the noise horri- 
ble. The songs to Ilogo were not for a moment discon- 
tinued, but the pitch of their voices was so great and so 
hoarse that the w^ords at last seemed to come with diffi- 
culty. The medium, the women, and the men all sang 
with one accord : 

" Ilogo, we ask thee, 
Tell who has bewitched the king ! 
Ilogo, we ask thee, 
What shall we do to cure the king ? 
The forests are thine, Ilogo ! 
The rivers are thine, Ilogo ! 
The moon is thine ! 
O moon ! O moon ! O moon ! 
Thou art the home of Ilogo ! *>■ 

Shall the king die ? O Ilogo ! 
O Ilogo ! O moon ! O moon !" 

These words were repeated over and over, the people 
getting more terribly excited as they went on. The 



ILO GO'S MESSAGE. 165 

woman who was the medium, and wKo had been singing 
violently, looked toward the moon, and began to tremble. 
Her nerves twitched, her face was contorted, ii^ muscles 
swelled, and at last lier limbs straightened out. ^^^his 
time the wildest of all wild excitement possessed the peo^v 
pie. I myself looked on with intense curiosity. She fell 
on her back on the ground, insensible, her face turned 
up to the moon. She looked as if she had died in a fit. 

The song to Ilogo continued with more noise than 
ever ; but at last comparative quiet followed, compelled, 
I believe, by sheer exhaustion from excitement. But the 
people were all gazing intently on the woman's face. 

I shall not forget that scene by moonlight, nor the 
corpse-like face of that woman, so still and calm. How 
wild it all looked! The woman, who lay apparently 
dead before the savages, was expected at this time to see 
things in tlie world of Ilogo — that is to say, the moon — 
to see the great spirit Ilogo himself ; and, as she lay in- 
sensible, she was supposed to be holding intercourse with 
him. Then, after she had conversed with the great spirit 
Ilogo, she would awake, and tell the people all she saw 
and all that Ilogo had said to her. 

For my part, I thought she really was dead. I ap- 
proached her, and touched her pulse. It was weak, but 
there was life. After about half an hour of insensibili- 
ty she came to her senses, but she was much prostrated. 
She seated herself without rising, looking round as if 
stupefied. She remained quite silent for a while, and 
then began to speak. 

" I have seen Ilogo, I have spoken to Ilogo. Ilogo has 
told me that Quengueza, our king, shall not die ; that 
Quengueza is going to live a long time ; that Quengueza 



166 ' \IN THE JUNGLE. 

\ 

was not be^ ^ that a remedy prepared from 

such a p"" vC the name) would cure him. Then," 

she '- ^it to sleep, and when I awoke Ilogo was 

Y I find myself in the midst of you." 
^ople then quietly separated, as by that time 
^ late, and all retired to their huts, I myself going 
^^inine, thinking of the wild scene I had just witnessed, 
and feeling that, the longer I remained in that strange 
country, the more strange the customs of the people ap- 
peared to me. Soon all became silent, and nothing but 
the barking of the watchful little native dogs broke the 
stillness of the night. The moon continued to shine 
over that village, the inhabitants of which had run so 
wild with superstition. 




CHAPTER XX. 

DEPARTUEE FEOM GOUMBI. QUERLAOUEn's VILLAGE. FIND 

IT DESERTED. QUERLAOUEN DEAD. HE HAS BEEN KILLED 

BY AN ELEPHANT. ARRIVE AT OBINDJi's TOWN. MEET- 
ING WITH QUERLAOUEn's WIDOW. NEITHER MALAOUEN 

NOR GAMBO AT HOME. 

After a few days thus spent in Goiimbi, we had to 
get ready to be off. 

Adouma made the preparations for our journey ; ca- 
noes were lying on the banks of the river, waiting to 
carry the people. Quengueza had ordered to go with me. 
These -^ere, for the most part, the king's slaves. Plan- 
tains and cassava had been gathered for onr journey. 
We were to ascend the river as far as Obindji. 

One fine morning we started, several very large canoes 
beino; filled with men who "were to escort me. 

Adouma was in my canoe, holding a large paddle as a 
rudder. We were in a canoe which was chiefly loaded 
with my outfit and presents. 

We left Goumbi silently, for the death of Mpomo 
made singing out of order. The people were in mourn- 
ing. 

Some of the men who were to accompany me had most 
curious names, such as Gooloo-Gani, Biembia, Agambie- 
Mo, Jombai, Monda, Akondogo. 

The day became exceedingly hot and sultry, and to- 



168 LOST IN TKE JUNGLE. 

ward evening we were overtaken by a terrible storm of 
wind and rain — a real tornado burst npon ns. 

The next morning we were on our way for the upper 
river. 

I was glad I was about to see my old friend Querla- 
onen once more. 1 was also to see my other friends, 
Malaouen and Gambo. 

I had nice presents for Querlaouen, and pretty beads 
for his wife and children. Among the presents for 
Querlaouen was a handsome gun and a keg of powder 
for shooting elephants, leopards, gorilla, and all sorts of 
wild game. 

As we ascended the river I recognized the point on 
the other side of which was Querlaouen's plantation. I 
ordered the men to sing, in order that Querlaouen might 
thus hear of our arrival. The nearer we came to the 
point the louder became the beatings of my heart. To 
see old Querlaouen, with whom I had hiad so many 
pleasant days ; who had bravely shared all kinds of dan- 
ger with me, including hunger and starvation ; with, 
whom I had slain gorilla — I was in a hurry to give to 
him and his wife their presents. To see such a friend 
was indeed to have a great treatT 

Our canoes soon passed the point. I was looking ea- 
gerly, watching for somebody on the river bank. 'Eo 
one ! Perhaps our songs had not pierced through the 
woods. The wind was coming from an opposite direction. 

. " Sing louder," I exclaimed, for I fancied they did not 
sing loud enough. They looked at me as if they would 
have said, " What's the matter with Chally, he looks so 
excited ?" Little did they know my feelings, and how 
my heart beat for Querlaouen, 



Q UERLA UEN'S VILLA GE DESERTED. 169 

They sang louder, till I could hear the echo of then' 
\oices among the hills that surronnded us. I looked, 
but no one was on the shore. Querlaouen might have 
gone hunting, but surely his wife, or brother, or some of 
his children must be there. All was silent. 

I shouted with all my power, " Querlaouen, your 
friend Chally has come ! your friend Chally has come !" 
but the hills sent back the echo of my voice to me. I 
tired a gun, and the echo resounded from hill to hill, and 
no one came. I began to feel oppressed. A presenti- 
ment flashed over my mind. Was Querlaouen dead ? 

At last I landed on the very shore where Querlaouen 
lived. Again I shouted, " Querlaouen, where are you ?" 
1 called his wife. The silence of death was there. 

I advanced, but lo ! when I reached the village, it was 
deserted. Kot a bouI was seen. The jungle was the 
tliickest where his little clearing had bee^n. The houses 
had tumbled down. Desolation was before me. The 
grass had grown to a man's height in the little street. 

What a pang of sorrow shot through my heart ! I 
could not help it. I shouted, " Querlaouen ! my fi-iend 
Querlaouen, what has become of you ? You are not dead, 
are you ?" and I looked with profound sadness on the 
scene around. Days that had passed came to my mem- 
ory. 

I retraced my steps, disappointed, and with a forebod- 
ing heart. On the river bank, just as I was on the point 
of stepping into the canoe, a Bakalai came out from the 
jungle. He had recognized me, and came to meet me. 

As soon as I saw him, I cried out, " Where is friend 
Querlaouen ?" His answer seemed so long in coming — 
''Dead!" 

H 



170 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

" Dead !" I exclaimed ; " Querlaouen dead !" and, I 
could not help it, two tears rolled down my cheeks. 

" Querlaouen dead !" I repeated again. The recollec- 
tion of that good and noble savage flashed upon me as 
fast as thought can flash, and once more and in a low 
voice I said, " Dead ! Querlaouen dead !" 

When I became composed again, I asked, " How did 
he die?" 

" One day," said the Bakalai man, " a few moons ago 
— it was in the dry season — Querlaouen took his gun 
and a slave along with him, and went out into the woods 
to hunt after an elephant which had the day before de- 
stroyed a whole plantation of plantain-trees, and had 
trampled down almost a whole patch of sugar-cane. His 
slave, who accompanied him, but had left him for a few 
minutes to look at one of the plantations close by, heard 
the report of Querlaouen's gun. He waited for his re- 
turn, but Querlaouen did not come back. He waited so 
long that he began to feel anxious, and at last set out to 
seek him. He found him in the forest dead, and tram- 
pled into a shapeless mass by the beast, which he had 
wounded mortally, but which had strength enough to 
rush at and kill its enemy. Not far from Querlaouen 
lay the elephant, dead." 

How poor Querlaouen, who was so prudent a hunter, 
could have been caught by the elephant, I could not 
learn. 

The man said it was an aniemba (witchcraft) that had 
killed Querlaouen; that Querlaouen's brother had be- 
witched him, and caused, by witchcraft, the elephant to 
trample upon him. 

The brother was killed by the mboundou which the 



1 LOVE TO THINK OF Q UERLA UEK 171 

people made him drink ; for they said liis brother made 
him go hunt that day, when he knew the elephant would 
kill him. 

That family, who really loved each other, arfd lived in 
peace and unity, was then divided asunder. The broth- 
er being killed, the women and children had gone to live 
with those to whom they belonged by the law of inherit- 
ance, and were thus scattered in several villages. 

"With a heavy heart I entered my canoe, but not be- 
fore giving a bunch of beads to the Bakalai who had 
told me the story of the untimely death of poor Querla- 
ouen. 

We ascended the river silently, I thinking of the frail- 
ty of human life, and that perhaps a day might come 
when some elephant would trample upon me, or some 
ferocious leopard carry me away in his jaws, or some go- 
rilla would, with one blow of his powerful hand, cut my 
body in two. Perhaps fever might kill me. I might 
encounter an unfriendly tribe and be murdered. 

I raised a silent prayer to the Great Kuler of the- uni- 
verse to protect me, and said, " God, thou knowest that 
I am guided only by the love of discovering the wonders 
of thy creation, so that I may tell to my fellow-creatures 
all that I have seen. I am but a worm ; there is no 
strength in me. What am I in this great forest ?" Oh 
how helpless I felt. The news of Querlaouen's death 
had very much depressed my spirits, casting a heavy 
gloom over me. 

To this day I love to think of friend Querlaouen, of 
his family, and of his children, and of the great hunts we 
have had together. 

We finally approached Obindji's town, and soon were 



172 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

landed on the shore, where his little village was built 
with the bark of trees. 

I need not say what a welcome we received. But lo! 
what do I see ? Querlaouen's wife ! She had come here 
on a visit. As is customary in that country for friends 
who have not seen each other for a long time, we em- 
braced. 

The good woman was so glad to see me. She still 
wore the marks of her widowhood. Her hair was shorn, 
she wore no ornament whatever, and di^ not even wash. 

She spent the evening with me, telling me all her 
troubles, and that, as soon as her season of widowhood 
was finished, she was to become the wife of Querlaouen's 
youngest brother. " But," added she, " I will never love 
any one as I loved Querlaouen." She was to live in the 
mountains of the Ashankolo. 

This was probably the last time I was to see the wife 
of my good friend .Querlaouen, the Bakalai hunter, and 
all the friendship I ever had for her husband was now 
hers ; so I went quietly to one of my chests, and, taking 
a necklace of large beads, fixed it round her neck ; then 
put my hand on the top of her head, and gave her a hoii- 
go (a law), which was, that she must never part with 
these beads, and that, as years would roll by, she must say, 
*^ These beads came from Chally, Querlaouen's friend." 

The old woman was so much touched that she trem- 
bled, and tears stood in her eyes. 

After keeping the necklace for two or three minutes 
round her neck, she took it off, for a woman in mourn- 
ing can not wear any ornaments. She said she would 
keep the beads till she died, and then they should be 
buried with her. I gave her some other presents, which 



GAMBO AND MALAOUEN ARE ABSENT. 



173 




GIVING BEADS TO QUEKLA0UE:N 8 WIFE, 



she liid, " for," said she, " if the people knew I had such 
nice things, they might bewitch me in order to obtain 
them. Clially, the country is full of aniemba." These 
last words she uttered in a very low voice. 

Obindji told me that he had heard Malaouen had gone 
on some trading expedition. I had, therefore, only to 
regret not being able to see him or Gambo, who had re- 
turned to his own country. 

I missed them dreadfully, and I left word with Obind- 
ji to tell them to come to the Ashira country after me. 

I could not possibly remain, and all the entreaties of 
friend Obindji could not make me stay. I must go to 
the Ashira country. 



174 



LOST m THE JUNGLE. 



In the mean time, a new comer is to be one of the 
chiefs of the party. Okendjo, an Ashira man, with 
Adouma, is going to lead us. Adouma received very 
positive orders from the king to follow me to the Ashira 
country. Wherever I go, he must not return without me. 

With Bakalai and Goumbi people, amounting to thir- 
ty-two men all told, I left? the morning after my arrival 
for the Ashira land. 

Okendjo was in his glory; he had conceived the bril- 
liant idea of taking the first moguizi into his country. 



X 




'^M^^ 



CHAPTER XXI. 



LEAVE FOR ASHIEA LAND. IN A SWAMP. CROSS THE MOUN- 
TAINS. A LEOPARD AFTER US. EEACH THE ASHIRA 

COUNTRY. 

Early on that morning of my departure for the Ashi- 
ra Land we were awakened by the \'oice of friend Obind- 
ji, who was recommending Okendjo to take great care 
of his " white man," and see that nothing should hurt'* 
him. 

We were soon under way, and, leaving the Ovenga, 
ascended the Ofoubou River for three miles and a half, 
when we unloaded our canoes. Then we struck off due 
east. 

We had very great trouble in getting through the 
marshy lands which border the river, for they were over- 
flowed to the very foot of the hills. 

This was about as hard a piece of traveling as I ever 
had in my life. The water was so yellow that I could 
not see to the bottom, which was slimy clay, covering the 
roots of trees. 

I hardly entered the swamp before down I seated my- 
self in a manner I did not like at all. I barely saved 
my gun from going to the bottom. My foot had slipped 
on a root. Then I went tottering along, getting hold of 
all the branches or trees I could reach, at the same time 



176 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

saying to myself that I did not see the use of such a 
country. 

I was in water from my knees to my waist ; below my 
knees I was in mud. I felt warm enough, for at every 
step I would go deeper into the sticky mud, and it was 
difficult to get my feet out again. I took good care to 
have Okendjo and two or three fellows go ahead of me. 
They had no clothes, and if they tumbled into the water 
I did not care ; they were not long in drying o:ff. 

Finally we got through, and stood at the foot of a 
mountain ridge along which, we may say, lay the route 
leading to Ashira Land. Here we gave three cheers, and 
with cheery hopes I started once more for a terra incog- 
nita. 

We are lost in the jungle. Under the tall trees a dense 
jungle covers the ground; lianas hang gracefully from 
the limbs and trunks of trees. Many of them are cover- 
ed with flowers. Now and then, huge blocks of quartz 
rocks are met with. We go along slowly, for we are 
tired. 

Okendjo says that soon we shall reach the promised 
land, where goats, fowls, plantain, and palm wine are 
plentiful. 

Mountain after mountain had to be ascended. Oh, 
how hard we worked! How we panted after reaching 
the summit of a hill. How beautiful were the rivulets, 
they were so pure, so cool, so nice ; their crystalline wa- 
ter rolled in every direction, tumbling over the rocks in 
foaming cascades, or purling along in a bed of white 
pebbles. Oh how much they reminded me of the hill- 
streams and trout-brooks of home i for if the trees I saw 
had not the foliage of our trees at home, the stones were 



GOING TO ASHIRA LAND. 



177 



the same. The quartz was similar. Nature there, at least, 
was aUke. The rocks were of the same formation. 

1 felt well and happy. I was on my way to discover 
new lands, new rivers, new mountains, and new beasts 




GOING TO ABHIEA LAND. 



and birds. I was to see new tribes of men whom I had 
never seen before. 

So I trotted along, Okendjo, Adouma, and I leading 
the way. By-and-by the country became still more rug- 
ged. The blocks of quartz we met were of larger size, 

H2 



178 L 08T IN THE JUNGLE. 

and soon our path led us in the midst of huge masses of 
stones. How queer and small we looked as our caravan 
filed, one by one, between the ponderous blocks ! We 
looked exactly like pigmies alongside of the huge boul- 
ders. 

Quite near us were some large ebony-trees ; how beau- 
tiful their foliage looked, contrasting with the blocks of 
quartz and granite, some of which were covered with 
mosses, and others perfectly bare. What could have 
brought these huge boulders on those mountains? I 
should not wonder if glaciers had accomplished it in 
ages that are past. The more rocky the soil, the better 
ebony-trees appeared to flourish. 

How hard the walking was ! In many places the rains 
had washed away the soil from the immense and wide- 
spreading roots, which ran along the ground like huge 
serpents — indeed, many of them were just like big boa 
constrictors. 

My feet were so sore by walking on those roots, or 
rather by stepping from one to another, for I was obliged 
to wear thin-soled shoes, so that I might bend my feet to 
seize the roots. H I had worn thick shoes I should have 
tumbled down at the first jump. 

Just before sunset we stopped, and I ordered the camp 
to be built, the firewood to be collected for the night. 
There were no large leaves to be found, so we all hoped 
that no rain or tornado would come that night. 

We all made beds of such leaves as were to be found ; 
for myself, I put two mats on the top, and lighted, as usu- 
al, four fires round me to keep off the wild beasts. 

The Bakalai built a ca,mp for themselves, the Ashira 
built another, and my own was between the two. I lay 



A LEOFAMD IS AFTER US. 179 

down, feeling very tired, and prayed to God to take care 
of me. For a pillow I used the belt which held my re- 
volvers, and taking one of my gmis in my arms, I went 
to sleep. 

Toward one o'clock in the morning 1 was awakened 
by the loud roaring of a leopard which was prowling 
round our camp. He had smelled human flesh ; probably 
he had tasted it before, but he dared not approach very 
close, for the fires were bright and the men awake. He 
was afraid of the bright light, and his howls testified how 
enraged he was. He was, no doubt, hungry, but his cow- 
ardice kept him back. I ordered some guns to be fired 
at random in the direction where we heard his growls. 

For a while the forest became silent, and the leopard 
went off. We thought we had fi-ightened him ; but, just 
as we were on the point of going to sleep once more, sud 
denly the roaring began again, and this time the beast 
had come nearer. He wanted, no doubt, to make his 
breakfast upon one of us ; but his desires were not to be 
gratified. I felt mad, as I wanted to sleep, for the next 
day was to be one of hard traveling. 

If 1 had dared, I would have ventured into the forest 
after the beast ; but the risk was too great, it was so dark. 
The leopard would have done, no doubt, as cats do, lain 
flat on the ground and waited for his prey, and pounced 
upon me as the smaller animal would do upon a mouse. 
So, as the roars of the beast continued, we concluded to 
keep awake, first putting more wood on our fires. 

The loads we had carried since leaving Obindji had 
been very heavy, and the sore backs of the men began 
to show that they had hard work. I was loaded as well 
as any of them, with powder, shot, my own food, bullets 



] 80 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

for my gun and my revolvers, which I carried in my belt, 
an extra pair of pantaloons, shoes, etc., etc. 

Resuming our journey next morning,! discovered that 
the fellows had either been eating lots of plantains, or 
perhaps slyly throwing away a quantity of them, in or- 
der to be relieved of the burden. I warned them that 
if we were short of food they would have to starve first. 

They replied, " There are plenty of nuts in the forest 
— there are plenty of berries in the forest ; we can stand 
being a day without food !" 

Toward the evening of that day we began to see signs 
of a change in the face of the country. E^ow and then 
we would pass immense plantations of plantains, the trees 
loaded with fruit. We came at last to one which goril- 
las had visited and made short work of, having demol- 
ished lots of trees, which lay scattered right and left. El- 
ephants had also made sad havoc in some of the planta- 
tions. Then we came across patches of sugar-cane. 
These plantations were scattered in the great forest, 
and grew in the midst of innumerable trunks and dead 
branches of trees that had been cut down. 

The soil became more clayey, and at last we emerged 
from the immense forest. I saw, spread out before me, 
a new country, the like of which I had not seen since I 
had been lost in the great equatorial jungle. It was 
Ashira Land. The prairies were dotted plentifully with 
villages, which looked in the distance like ant-hills. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 



GREAT MOUNTAINS. ASHIEA LAJSTD IS BEArTIFUL. THE PEO- 
PLE ARE AFRAID. REACH AKOONGA's VILLAGE. KING 

OLENDA SENDS MESSENGERS AND PRESENTS. 1 REACH 

OLENDa's VILLAGE. 

What a beautiful country ! How lovely the grass 
seemed to me ! How sweet it was to see^n open space ! 

"Where are we?" cried I to my Okendjo men. 

They answered, in Ashira Land — Otobi (prairie). It 
seemed to me that they should have replied in Fairy- 
land, as I had been so long shut up in the dark forest. 

I stood for a long time on a bluff just on the border 
of the forest. On the left, in the far distance, loomed 
up mountains higher than any I had yet seen. They 
looked very beautiful against the blue sky. These moun- 
tains were called Nkoumou-Nabouali. No one had ever 
been on their summit. On the right, in the distance also, 
were mountains, but not so lofty, called Ofoubou-Or^r^ 
and Andel^, and in front of my position were still other 
mountains called Okoukoue. "^ 

All over the prairies villages were scattered, and the 
hills and valleys were streaked with ribbon-like paths, 
while here and there my eye caught the silver sheen of 
a brook winding along thr9ugh the undulating land. I 
could also see groves of banana and plantain trees, with 
their leaves so large and beautiful. There were likewise 
plantations of cassada and peanuts. 



182 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

The setting sun shone over the landscape, and the tall 
green grass reminded me of home, and my heart at once 
went over the sea. Do not think that I was without 
feeling because I went to Africa and left civihzation — 
that I never thought of friends. There were girls and 
boys of whom I thought almost every day, and whom I 
loved dearly. 

"Fire a gun," said Okendjo; "fire, Moguizi, so that 
my people may know you by the thunder you carry in 
your hand, and that Okendjo brings them a moguizi." 

The good fellow was in a high state of excitement. 
Adouma was nowhere. I loaded my guns with heavy 
charges, and fired, bang ! bang ! bang ! Immediately I 
could see the people running out of their villages ; they 
seemed in the distance like pigmies ; they shouted, and 
were, perhaps, just a little frightened as they ran to and 
fro. They had seen the smoke and heard the noise, and 
soon they saw me. Okendjo had sent guides to tell the 
people not to be afraid ; besides, my fame had gone be- 
fore me, for many of the Ashira had seen me. 

We did not long remain motionless, for it was almost 
dark, and we must hmTy. Soon every hill-top was cov- 
ered with people, but as we passed by they ran away. - 

Okendjo walked ahead of me, shouting "Ashira ! I 
have brought to you a great and mighty spirit ! He is 
good, and does no harm ! Ashira ! I am Okendjo." 

The crowd shouted in reply, " The ntangani has come ! 
The moguizi has come to see our land — our land which 
he never saw before. Moguizi, we will give you plenty 
to eat ! Moguizi, do us no harm ! Oh, Moguizi !" Then 
they sung songs, and the idols were brought out, so that 
they might see the moguizi that had come. The drums 



AKOONOA GIVES ME A HOUSE. I33 

beat, but, as I have said, when I came near, the people 
ran away, leaving their idols behind to look at me. 

Indeed, the Ashira Land was a strange country. 

We soon came to a village, the chief of which was 
Okendjo's brother; his name was Akoonga. He was at 
the gate of tlie village, and trembled with fear, but he 
had come to welcome me. 

" Am I tipsy with plantain wine ? Do tell me, Okend- 
jo, if I see aright, or is it a hallucination of my mind ? 
Have I not before me the spirit who makes the guns, the 
beads, the brass rods, and the copper rings ? 

" Do I see aright when I see that his hair is long, and 
as black as that of the mondi ? when I see that his legs 
are black, and that he has no toes (I had boots on) ? that 
his face is of a color I never saw ? Do tell me — tell me 
quick, Okendjo, am I drunk J?^' 

Okendjo replied, " He is the spirit of whom you have 
heard so much, who came into the Bakalai country. He 
comes fi'om the spirit land to visit us." The people then 
shouted, " How queer the spirit looks !" My hair was 
long, very long, and excited their wonder. 

Akoonga soon gave me a house. There the chief came, 
followed by ten of his vtdves, each bearing two bunches of 
plantains, which, with fear and trembling, they brought 
to my feet. Then came four goats, twenty fowls, several 
baskets of ground-nuts, and many bunches of sugar-cane. 

The chief told Okendjo to say to me that he was glad 
I was to spend the night in his callage, and that I w^as 
the master of every thing in it. 

When night came Okendjo walked from one end of 
the village to the other, and I heard him say to his 
people, " Be silent ; do not trouble the spirit ; do not 



184 



LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



speak, lest you awake him, and he might awake in anger, 
and smite you, and make the people of our village die. 
jSTeither our forefathers nor ourselves ever saw such a 
wonder as this." 

. Next morning immense crowds surrounded the vil- 
lage. They shouted and shouted, and, not to disappoint 
them, I walked through the street from time to time. 

Olenda, the king or head chief of the Ashiras, for 
whose place I was bound, sent presents of goats and 
plantains for the spirit by two messengers, and wanted 
to know if the arrival of the moguizi was true. The 
king also sent word that I should be carried ; for why 
should the moguizi walk if he is tired ? 

The messengers went and reported to their king that 
it was so — a good moguizi had come. Then a great num- 
ber of men were sent back to carry my baggage, and 
we left Akoonga's village. The men shouted, and from 
time to time sung wild songs celebrating my arrival 
among them. After a walk of ten miles I reached the 
village of Olenda. Olenda was the great king of the 
Ashira tribe. 




CHAPTEK XXIII. 

KING OLEKDA COMES TO KECEIYE ME. HE IS VERY OLD. 

NEVER SAW A MAN SO OLD BEFORE. HE BEATS HIS KEN- 
DO. HE SALUTES ME WITH HIS KOJ^IBO. KINGS ALONE 

CAN WEAR THE KENDO. 

Olenda village was situated at the top of a high hill. 
The people, with the exception of a few, had fled. AH 
were afi'aid to see the mogiiizi close by them. 

"How could King Olenda run off, when his greal 
friend Quengueza sent him a moguizi ?" shouted Okend- 
jo; "' the people will return when they see Olenda facing 
you." 

I was led to the ouandja, and had scarcely seated my- 
self on a native wtool when I heard the sound of the 
kendo — the king was coming. The kendo was ringing, 
and no one can possess or ring a kendo but a king. S.o, 
at every step the king made the kendo rang, and at last 
Olenda stood before me. 

IS^ever in my life had I seen a man so old ; never did 
I dream that a man could be so old, and I wondered not 
that his fame had spread far and wide on account of his 
age. He was a man with wool as white as snow, and his 
face was a mass of wrinkles. Every rib could be seen, 
for the skin was like parchment. His body was bent al- 
most double with age, and the legs and arms were like 
sticks, apjjjarently not bigger than broom-handles. His 







E.EOEPTIOI* OF THE KIISG OF THE ASUIBA8. 



APPEAEANCE OF OLENDA. 187 

cheeks were so hollow that the skin seemed to cling to 
the bones. He had painted with the chalk of the Alum- 
bi his haggard old face, red on one side and white on the 
other, in streaks, and, as he stood before me, I wondered 
as much at his appearance as he did at mine. He car- 
ried a long stick or cane to support himself. The like I 
had never seen. He seemed the apparition of some man 
who had lived in our world a couple of hundred years. 

"When we had gazed at each other (he looking at me 
with deep little eyes for at least five minutes, and beat- 
ing his kendo all the time with his palsied hand), he sud- 
denly spoke and said, " I have no bowels ; I am like the 
Oveng-a Hiver — I can not be cut in two. I am- also like 
the Niembai and Ovenga Rivers, which unite together. 
Thus my body is united, and nothing can divide it." 

This gibberish had some deep mystic significance. It 
was the regular and invariable salutation of the Asliira 
kings, Olenda's predecessors, time out of mind. Each 
chief and important person has such a salutation, which 
they call komho. 

I will explain Olenda's kombo to you. If you had be- 
fore you a map of the countries I have explored in Equa- 
torial Afiica, which are published in my larger works, 
you would see on it the River Ovenga. Olenda means, 
when he says that he can not be cut in two and is like 
the River Ovenga, that his body can not be divided any 
more than the River Ovenga can be cut in twain. The 
Niembai and Ovenga unite together and form one river, 
called Rembo ; so, if his body was cut in two, it could 
not be separated, for, as the two rivers unite and form 
one, so the two parts of his body would reimite again 
and form one. 



188 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

Then he continued, beating his kendo from time to 
time, " You, the spirit, have come to see Olenda ; you, 
the spirit, have put your feet where none like you have 
ever been. You are welcome." 

Here the old king's son, also a very old negro, with 
w^hite wool on his head, handed over to the king two 
slaves, which his majesty formally presented to me, to- 
gether with three goats, twenty bunches of plantains, 
twenty fowls, five baskets of ground-nuts, and several 
bunches of sugar-cane. 

" This," said he, " is to salute you. Whatever else you 
want, tell me. I am the king of this country; I am old- 
er than any tree you see around you." 

I replied that slaves I did not want, but the food and 
other presents I would take. 

Then more of the old man's children came, all old, 
and wrinkled, and white-headed men. They stood before 
me, regarding me with wonder and awe, while the peo- 
ple, of whom thousands were gathered from all the vil- 
lages of the plain, had returned while their old king was 
speaking to me. They looked on in silence, and-expressed 
their surprise in whispers. 

At last the old king turned to his people and said, "I 
have seen many things in my life — many wonderful 
things ; but now I am ready to die, for I have received 
the moguizi spirit, from whom we receive all things. It 
will always be said in our nation, by those coming after 
us, that in the time of Olenda the spirit first appeared 
and dwelt among us. You are welcome (turning to me). 
Keep this spirit well (to his people) ; he will do us good."' 

I was amazed; my eyes could not keep away from 
Olenda. I knew not that men could become so old. 



THE KEXDO. 



189 



Then Olenda began to beat his kendo again, invoking 
the spirits of his ancestors to be with him and his, and, 
with his body bent double, and supported by his cane, he 
returned to his hnt, ejaculating '^ Ma-mo ^ ma-mo , ma- 

7110 /" 

The kendo is the symbol of royalty in most of the 
tribes of this part of the interior of Afi-ica. It is a rude 
bell of iron, furnished with a long handle, also of iron, 
and of the same piece, as shown in the engraving. The 

sonnd, which 
at home an- 
nounces the 
vicinity of a 
herd of cows 
or sheep, in 
Afiica precedes the advent of the sover- 
eign, who uses the kendo only when on 
visits of state or on business of importance. 
When not beating it they wear it on the 
shoulder. The bell may vary from six to 
eight inches in length, and the handle from 
twelve to fifteen inches. When they wear 
the kendo they fill it with a skin, general- 
ly of an oshengui, which contains monda, 
or charms, to keep away the aniemba. 

A nice little hut was given to me, and I 
was soon safely housed in it. One of the 
chickens given to me by Olenda was kill- 
ed, and a soup made with it. It was ex- 
cellent, and did me good. 




CHAPTER XXIY. 



THEY ALL COME TO SEE ME. THEY SAY I HAVE AN EVIL 

EYE. ASHIRA VILLAGES. — OLEKDA GIVES A GEEAT BALL 

IN MY HONOR. — BEER-HOTJSES. GOATS COMING OUT OF A 

MOUNTAIN ALIVE. 

Several days have elapsed ^ince my arrival at Olen- 
da. From more than one hundred and fifty villages of 
the plain, the people streamed to Olenda's town to see 
" the spirit." They came in the night, slept on the 
ground outside the town, and in the morning crowded 
about me, wondering at my hair, at my clothes, at my 
shoes ; declaring that my feet were like elephant's feet, 
for they did not see the toes ; and they would try to get a 
glance at my eyes. The moment I looked at them they 
ran off screaming, and especially the women and chil- 
dren. The Africans had a great dread of my look. They 
believe in the evil eye, and often, when I would look 
steadily at them, my best friends, with a shudder, would 
beg me not to do it. 

So I may say that since my arrival the time has been 
devoted to seeing and being seen. And I assure you it 
was no joke to hear that uproarious crowd and their wild 
shouts — to have always in my sight a crowd of people 
yelling at every movement I made. 

I had a Yankee clock, which was an object of constant 
wonder to them. They thought that there was a kind of 
spirit inside that made the noise, and that watched over 



EVERY DA Y OLENBA LOOKS AT ME. 191 

me. Its constant ticking, day and night, was noticed, 
and they had an idea that the noise could never stop. 
At night of course the sound is louder, and this fright- 
ened them, and not one dared to come close to my hut. 

Every day Olenda beats his kendo ; every day he comes 
to get a look at me. 

This Ashira prairie seemed to be shut in on all sides 
by mountains, which of course were covered with forest. 
Fancy tlie forest a sea of trees, and the Ashira Land an 
island. Pine-apples grew in great abundance, and thou- 
sands and thousands of them were clustered close togeth- 
er, and formed otobi (prairies) by themselves. 

This plain is the finest and most delightful country I 
had thus far seen in the jungle. The undulations of the 
prairie, which is a kind of table-land surrounded on ev- 
ery side by high mountains, gave the landscape a charm- 
ing variety. The surrounding mountains, the splendid 
peak of the Nkoomoo l^abouali on the north, said by 
the superstitious Ashiras to be inhabited by satyrs like 
men ; the Andel^ and Of oubou-Or^r^ to the south, and 
the Ococoo to the east, are all covered with dense masses 
of foliage. In those forests are living tribes of wild men 
and wilder beasts, roaming at pleasure. 

I have arrived in a country where I could see grass, 
and see distinctly the moon, the stars, and the sun with- 
out first being obliged to cut the trees down. Oh, you 
have no idea how nice it is to see an open space after 
you have been shut up in the forest for years. 

From Olenda's village I made excursions all Over the 
Ashira country. The villages were so numerous I could 
not count them. There were from one hundred and fifty 
to two hundred of them. Some were quite small, others 



192 • LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

were quite large ; and what beautiful villages thej were. 
I had not seen such pretty ones before. The houses were 
small, but the neatest I had met in the jungle. They are 
built generally in one long street, houses on each side. 
The streets are kept clean ; and this was the first tribe I 
met where the ground at the back of the houses was also 
cleared off*. In most villages there was, back of the 
houses, a street where great numbers of plantain-trees 
and some lime-trees, for they love lemons, were growing. 
The villages are surrounded by thousands of plantain- 
trees, and regular footpaths connected one village with 
another. 

Ball after ball was given to me, and one evening Olen- 
da gave me a very fine, big one. More than fifty drums 
beat, besides there were musicians armed with short 
sticks, with which they pounded with all their might on 
pieces of board. The singing was extraordinary, and the 
Ashira belles cut any amount of capers, one time raising 
their legs one way, then bending their bodies backward 
and forward, shaking their heads from one side to the 
other, kicking their heels together, the iron or brass 
bracelets or anklets adding to the harmony of the 'mu- 
sical instruments I have described to you. The singing 
was as wild as can be imagined. Olenda's wives — for 
his majesty was blessed with several scores of them — 
danced with fury. 

They danced all night, and the next morning there was 
a general stampede to the beer or cider-house. I must 
tell you that the Ashira are very fond of plantain wine. 

I followed, for I wanted to see a beer-house and a 
general Ashira spree. 

After walking for half an hour we came to a cluster<fa. 



APPEARANCE OF A BEER-HOUSE. 



193 



of trees, in tlie centre of which we found a brewery. A 
few women had charge of the premises — the wives of 
some of the Ashira. 

What a sight presented itself to my view! There 
himg all round hundreds of large bunches of plantain in 
different stages of ripening, from the dark green to the 




DltliMiUNOr PLAiSXAlN JBBKK. 



bright yellow, hanging from the limbs of trees. There 
were also some red-skin plantains. 

It was a large building, under a single roof, supported 
by numerous wooden pillars, and on these hung a great 
many bunches of plantain. In the middle of the build- 
ing there were scores of large jars, manufactured in the 
-;ountry, some of w^hich would hold ten or fifteen gallons. 
From the necks of some of them a quantity of rich 
'^lite froth was running out. The beer in others was 



194 L OST m THE JUNGLE, 

just ripe, and ready for drinking. There were also 
many large mugs, looking more like dishes, however, for 
the plantain juice to be poured into. 

Yery soon the men seated themselves, either on the 
stools that belonged to them or on mats, and the drink- 
ing began. Mug after mug was swallowed by each man. 
I think no German could drink the same amount of liq- 
uid. They became, after a while, jolly and boisterous; 
they began, in fact, to get tipsy. 

Do not believe they were drinking at random. Each 
jug of wine belonged to several men, who had clubbed 
together ; that is to say, each had given a certain amount 
of plantain to make the beer which the vessel contained. 

The plantain with which the beer or wine is made is 
a kind of banana, much larger and coarser, and used, as 
you have seen, as food ; but it must be cooked, the na- 
tives cooking it when it is green. When ripe, it is yel- 
low like the banana. 

The beer is made in the following manner : The plant- 
ain must be quite ripe ; then it is cut in small pieces, 
which are put into the jar until it is half filled ; then the 
jar is filled with water. After a few days it ferments ; 
then the froth comes out, and the beer is ready for use. 

The bunches of plantain, which were hanging by hun- 
dreds, had their owners, and had been brought from the 
plantations by their wives, and were ripening in the 
shade. As the plantations yield fruit all the year round, 
the beer is never lacking among the Ashiras. 

After they were sufficiently excited, they began to talk 
of their wonderful warlike exploits, and I do believe it 
was who should lie the most. The greater the lie, the 
louder the applause. 



VISIT TO THE MOUNTAINS. 195 

I tasted the plantain beer, and found it somewhat sour; 
I did not like it at all. 

I spent the day in the beer-house, and, when we re- 
turned to the village, the men insisted on having another 
dance, and they kept hard at work at it all night, and 
went all to sleep the next morning. I was glad when 
every tjiing was over, for my head began to ache. 

I determined to visit the mountains from which the 
River Ofoubou takes its name. King Olenda was to take 
charge of my luggage, and I took only a few presents 
for the Ashira chiefs I was to see, and who had come to 
see and invite me to visit their towns in the mountains. 

One of Olenda's sons was chief of our part}^, and 
Adouma, Quengueza's nephew, led with him. We did 
not start before old King Olenda had told all his people 
to take great care of tlie " spirit." 

We left the village in the midst of the wildest shouts, 
and then wended our way through the beautiful green 
grass. Within a mile and a half south from Olenda we 
came to the foot of Mount ISTchondo, one of the highest 
points of the prairie. There we all stopped ; why, I 
could not guess. 

When one of the Ashiras said to me, pointing to the 
mountain, " You see that mountain, Moguizi ?" " Yes," 
said I. " From that part of the mountain," continued 
Oyagui, Olenda's great-grandson, in the most serious 
manner, " goats come out. That is a great mountain ; a 
spirit lives there. Sometimes, when our people want a 
goat, they will go there, and a goat will come to them." 
• I said, " That can not be." " Yes," insisted Oyagui, " I 
know plenty of people who get goats there." 

Then we passed by numerous villages, skirting most 



196 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

of the hills at their base, and crowds of people every 
where cried out, " The moguizi is coming ! the moguizi 
is coming!" 

All these villages were surrounded by groves of plan- 
tain and banana trees. 

After a journey of about ten miles, we came, at the 
. foot of the cloud-capped Mount Andel^, to the viljage of 
Mouendi, whose chief, Mandji, came forth with great joy 
to meet me, for he was a great friend of Adouma. He 
sang, as he came forward with his people, " It is good 
that the moguizi comes to see our town." 

To the rear of the village, on the slope of the moun- 
tain, the forest had been cleared, and the space occupied 
by plantations, where tobacco, peanuts, plantains, yams, 
and sugar-cane were grown to an extent which makes 
this a land of plenty where no man starves. Bushes of 
wild cotton were seen now and then, but not in great 
numbers. 

I was glad that I had reached a country where I should 
not readily starve — plantains and goats were plentiful. 
As I stood and cast my eyes over the scene, the yellow 
waving grass, with now and then a dark green patch in 
low land between the hills, where water stood, and the 
cane-fields contrasting with the dark green of the forest, 
reminded me of rural scenes at home ; but I looked in 
vain for cattle ; none were to be seen. 

I had a great time at Mouendi ; Mandji, its chief, was 
very kind to me. I had more goats and plantains given 
to me than my men and myself could eat. The Goum- 
bi people were in great glee ; that was just the country 
for them, and, I may now say it, it was just the country 
for me also. I was in clover, I thought. 



CHAPTEE XXY. 

ASCENSION OF THE OFOITEOU - OEERE AND ANDELE MOUN- 
TAINS. THE ASHIRA BLEED THEIR HANDS. STORY OF A 

FIGHT BETWEEN A GORILLA AND A LEOPARD. THE GO- 
RILLA AND THE ELEPHANT. WILD BOARS. 

The day arrived when we were to ascend tlie Ofou- 
bon-Orer^ and Andele Mountains, which were the high- 
est peaks of that range. Mandji, who is really a nice 
chief, had given me the necessary people, and I longed 
to reach the summits of these woody regions. We in- 
tended to hunt there also while we looked around. 

Every one prepared himself for several days' hard 
work, and finally, when every thing was ready, each be- 
ing loaded with a good stock of provisions, we bade 
good-by to the villagers. 

The Ashiras, before starting, covered themselves with 
fetiches, as usual, and drew blood from their hands by 
cutting small gashes on them, in order to insure good 
luck in the hunt. They were in great spirits, for the 
idol of the village had told the people that we should 
kill much game. The first night after we camped a tre- 
mendous tornado blew from the northeast, leaving us 
safely in our leafy shelter, however, and then the men 
began to tell stories of the gorilla. 

Oyagui was the first to get up. lie was a splendid 
story-teller ; but, before he began, he swore that he was 
going to tell a true story, part of which he saw, and a 
part was seen by his brother, which was the same as if 



198 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

he himself had seen it. A smile stole over the faces of 
all present, for Oyagui was known to tell tremendous 
big stories, and a great deal of faith was required before 
one could believe them. 

" One day," said he, " a gorilla was walking in the 
forest, when he met a ng^go (leopard). The gorilla 
stopped, and so did the leopard. The latter, being hun- 
gry, crouched for a spring at his foe, whereat the gorilla 
set up a hideous roar. Undismayed by that terrific noise, 
the leopard made his leap, but was caught in mid air 
by the gorilla, who seized him by the tail, and whirled 
him round his head till the tail broke off and remained 
in his hand, and the animal escaped, leaving his brush in 
the big hands of the gorilla. How funny the leopard 
did look, as he ran off without his tail !" 

" You never saw that," exclaimed one of the party. 

" I did," said Oyagui ; " I did, as sure as I live. The 
leopard ran away to his companions, who, when they saw 
him, asked, ' What is the matter V whereupon the unfor- 
tunate beast recounted his defeat." 

" How do you know," said another, " that the leopards 
asked the one without a tail ' What is the matter V You 
can not understand leopard talk." 

" Oh," said Oyagui, undismayed, " they looked at each 
other, and I am sure they said what I have told you, or 
something of the kind, for immediately the chief ng^go 
began howling till all the leopards of the forest came, 
who, when they saw their brother thus injured, and with- 
out a tail, vowed vengeance, and set out to find the go- 
rilla. This my brother saw," said Oyagui, talking loud 
er than ever, " and he followed the leopard, while I was 
watching the gorilla." 



THE GORILLA BHEAKS DOWN A TREE. 1)9 

" They had not long to hunt. When the gorilla saw 
them coming he broke down a tree, of which he made a 
club, and then swung it round and round his head, keep- 
ing the troop of leopards at bay. At last, however, the 
gorilla grew tired, his efforts began to slacken, and he 
whirled round his tree with less force. He stopped, and 
then the leopards rushed on him with one accord, and 
soon killed him. They sprang on his head, on his breast, 
on his arms, and on his legs.'' 

"You never saw this!" shouted all the Ashiras to- 
gether. 

" I have !" bawled Oyagui, as loud as he could. 

Then they all said, " Oyagui, tell us another story." 
There was a pause and a short silence while w^e gave 
another start to the fires, for, at any rate, Oyagui had 
succeeded in making us . think of leopards in telling us 
his story. Then Oyagui began again. 

" A great gorilla was once w^alking in the forest with 
his wife and baby, when they came upon a huge ele- 
phant, w^ho said, 'Let me pass, gorilla; move off, for 
these woods belong to me!' 

" ' Oh, oh !' said the gorilla, '- how do the. woods belong 
to thee? Am I not the master here? Am I not the 
Man of the Woods ? Do I not roam where I please ?' " 

"Oh!" once more exclaimed the Ashiras, "this can not 
be, for you do not talk gorilla ; you can not understand 
gorillas' or elephants' talk." 

" No," said Oyagui, " I can not understand gorillas' or 
elephants' talk, but I can see what they mean, for I have 
a fetich which makes me comprehend the talking of the 
beasts." 

Oyagui continued: 



200 ^^^T IN THE JUNGLE. 

" Ordering his wife and baby to move aside, the goril- 
la broke down a large limb of a tree, and, brandishing it 
like a club, made for the elephant, whom he soon killed 
by furious blows. The body of the latter I found a few 
days afterward, with the club of the gorilla lying by his 
side. I got frightened when I saw the big elephant 
charging at the gorilla, and the gorilla charging at the 
elephant, and so I ran away ; but I saw the club by the 
side of the big elephant." 

Soon after the conclusion of this story we went to 
sleep, I believing, for one, that Oyagui had most wonder- 
ful powers of imagination. I really do think that he be- 
lieved all he said, for, as he told the stories, he got very 
excited, and his body shone with perspiration. 

The next morning, after a good night's rest, I got up 
very early, and proceeded a little way into the forest, be- 
fore our ascent, to see if I could find some antelope or 
gazelle, or some other kind of game, wandering about in 
search of food, when I unexpectedly heard the grunt of 
wild boars. I was alone. I listened, and made sure that 
they were coming down the mountain. I knew that I 
must get shelter in order not to be seen, for I had dis- 
covered that they were coming just in my direction. 
A wild boar would not be a bad thing, I thought, espe- 
cially if it was fat. Were they yellow wild boars, or 
black ones ? Yellow or black, one would be welcome. 

Looking around, I saw the remains of a tree that had 
fallen down from old age. The top of the stump was 
about three feet above the ground, and in it was a hol- 
low, into which I could easily get, and there could not be 
seen, for the tree, in falling, broke off, carrying away part 
of the trunk. 



I GET INTO A HOLLOW TREE. 



201 



I looked inside to see if there were any snake, or scor- 
pion, or centipede in it, but saw nothing. 

If I had tried, I could not have made a better hiding- 
place. So I stepped in, making a peep-hole to see 
through, and lay in wait. The grunting became louder. 
I could hear them uprooting the ground, and finally four 
l)ig yellow wild boars were before me. I cocked my gun 







ATTACK ON TUB WILD BOABS. 



as the big fellow of the party approached, unaware of his 
danger, and fired, and down he came. His three com- 
panions made a leap of about ten yards — a tremendous 
leap it was. These wild boars can leap farther than an 
antelope. This was a Potamocherus alhifrons, a species 
which I have described to you in a former volume. 
There was great joy when I returned to the camp and 

12 



202 



LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



told the good news. Thej thought I had killed a mon- 
key. 

We had part of it for our breakfast, and it was excel- 
lent, but not very fat, as this time of the year is not their 
fat season. 

One of my Ashira men had at home a small idol, which 
had the reputation of being an excellent guardian of his 
vacant house, and to this idol he was to take a piece of 
smoked boar's flesh. I succeeded in purchasing the idol, 
a likeness of which I here give you. 




CHAPTER XXYI. 

PEOPOSE TO START FOR HAUNTED MOUNTAINS. OLENDA 

SAYS IT CAN NOT BE DONE. — AT LAST I LEAVE OLENDA 

VILLAGE. A TORNADO. — AVE ARE LOST. WE FIGHT A 

GORILLA. WE KILL A LEOPARD. RETURN TO OLENDA. 

I SOON after returned to 01 en da's village. 

One day I said to Olenda, " Olenda, have you ever been 
to the Nkoumou-Nabouali?" The wrinkled old chief 
looked at me through his small eyes for some time with- 
out saying a word, and then he replied, " Moguizi, no liv- 
ing man has ever been to the top of those mountains." 

" What kind of people live in those mountains ?" 

" No one lives there," said Olenda, " except a race oi 
people whom you may perhaps see, but, as soon as you 
approach their abodes, they vanish away, and no one can 
tell which way they have gone, for no one can see them 
when they disappear ; their villages are made only with 
branches of trees." 

I remained silent a little while. 

Then I said, " Olenda, I want to go there ; I want to 
go to the very top of the Nkoumou-Nabouali — to the 
very top," I added, pointing out to him the highest blue 
peak I could see from his village — " to the highest top, 
so that I may look at all the country round." I thought 
to myself what a glorious sight it would be, for, at a sin- 
gle glance, I should see hills, and plains, and rivers 
spread all around. My enthusiasm was very great when 



204 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

thinking of these things. I felt strong — so strong that I 
thought it would be nothing to go through that belt of 
immense forest and climb those high mountains. 

Olenda gave a quiet laiigh, which I still recollect, for 
it came from his hollow chest, and, if I had believed in 
witchcraft, I should have certainly thought Olenda was 
a sorcerer. His people were afraid of him, for no one 
could understand how he could have lived so long ; all 
the wives he had married when a young man had died 
long ago ; there was not a living man or woman in the 
country who knew him when he was a young man. The 
mothers of these people he knew when they were babies. 
. After he had given that laugh, which ended in a sar- 
castic smile, he looked me in the face and said, " You 
can not do it. Ko one has ever been there ; there is a 
mighty spirit living in those woods which prevents peo- 
ple from passing. Besides, there is nothing to eat ; there 
are no wild beasts, no antelope, no wild boar. At the 
foot of the mountain there is a tremendous waterfall, 
which drowns the roar of the gorilla." 

" I must go," said I. So I talked to the Ashiras, and 
finally I managed, by making presents and promising 
more on my return, to get guides enough among the 
Ashira freemen to lead me through the impenetrable 
forests which lay between the prairie and the mountain 
top. 

Then we prepared ourselves for the journey. I had 
two fine axes, which I filed and ground on soft stone in 
order to make them very sharp ; also several manchettes^ 
or cutlasses, to help us to cut our way through the jun- 
gle. I had several boxes of matches to light our fires, 
besides fire-steel and flints, in case our matches should 



OUB OUTFIT. 205 

get wet. I also took several wax candles, as it is mucih 
more easy to light the fires with them. Likewise I took 
one heavy blanket, for I knew not what kind of weather 
we should have on the mountains ; as for my men, the 
fires would be their blankets. 

The heavy portion of our luggage was several hun- 
dred bullets, about fifty pounds of shot with which to 
kill Guinea-fowls and other birds, and about ten pounds 
of powder. 

For food we had smoke-dried plantains, which had 
been cooked first, and then dried on an orala by smok- 
ing them. We had also smoked cassada. This kind of 
food, prepared in this way, w^ould keep much longer and 
be much lighter, so each man could carry a much great- 
er quantity of it. We wanted plenty of food. It was 
the first time I had seen plantain prepared in that way. 

We started in the midst of the cheers of the Ashira 
people, and, as we disappeared down the hill, I saw Olen- 
da looking after us with his body half bent, and for all 
the world like some being of another planet. 

We took a northerly direction till the afternoon, when 
we left the prairie, and entered at once into as fine a 
piece of bog land as any one could wish to be in. It 
was awful traveling ; the ground was soft, and every step 
we made took us almost knee-deep into it. Now and 
then I had to look at my compass to see that we were 
going in the right direction, for there was no path whatr 
ever ; but the Ashira said we would find one after pass- 
ing the marshes; that it was a hunting-path, and that 
there we would meet game. The fellows were already 
thinking of meat. 

When night came on we stopped on a hill surrounded 



206 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

by bog ; we were so tired that we had not the strength 
to build our shelters ; besides, there were no large leaves 
to be seen. We lighted tremendous fires, but toward 
midnight I was awakened by the sound of distant thun- 
der, which gradually grew louder and louder ; then flash- 
es of lightning glared through the forest, and then ter- 
rific claps of thunder rolled along the sky. The rain be- 
gan to po¥ir down with a fury that flooded the country 
in a short time ; our beds of leaves were saturated, com- 
pelling us. to get up. The rain kept pouring down with 
increasing violence. We had not built our fires sufli- 
ciently high, although we had used huge pieces of wood 
that ought to have been high enough from the ground 
to prevent the rain from putting them out. But they 
were getting dimmer and dimmer, and at last we were 
left in complete darkness. It was pitch dark, and we 
could not even see each other except when a flash of 
lightning would brighten the forest. 

We were in a pretty fix. I began to regret that we 
had not been more careful. Leopards and other wild 
beasts might be prowling about, and get hold of some of 
us. What would the Ashiras say if one of their number 
should be carried away by a wild beast? They would 
call me a bad spirit. 

We could not even talk, for the thunder was too loud, 
and drowned our voices ; besides, the rain made a great 
l^oise as it fell in torrents upon the trees, and from their 
leaves to the ground. We were surrounded by tall trees, 
and I was afraid that some of them might be struck by 
the lightning, and their heavy broken limbs fall in the 
midst of us. 

In fact, it was as uncomfortable a night as any one 



AN UNCOMFOETABLE NIGHT. 207 

could wish to" spend in the jungle, for we knew not what 
w^ould happen next. Toward four o'clock in the morn- 
ing the rain ceased, but then I was w^et to the bones ; of 
course, my Ashiras would soon dry. We lighted our fires 
once more, having split in two some pieces of half -rotten 
logs which lay near by, and had perhaps lain there for 
more than a hundred years, the heart being soft and dry. 
This is the kind of wood we use to light our fires with 
when there has been a heavy rain, and the wood that has 
fallen from the trees is wet outside. In these immense 
forests, which have been resting in their gloomy solitude 
for ages, the growths of trees succeed one after the oth- 
er. I have often wondered how Africa looked before it 
was covered with this dense vegetation, and w^hat kind 
of animals it had, for the fauna of that country must 
have changed like ours. I remembered that once the im- 
mense mastodon roamed through America. With these 
thoughts I went to sleep in clothes wet to the skin. I 
took a large dose of quinine, however, in order to pre- 
vent a chill, which probably might have ensued from 
such a severe night. 

The next morning I dried my wet clothes, and once 
more we went bravely into the great jungle, still taking 
by my compass a northerly direction through the dense 
and thorny forest. The hunting-path was almost a myth, 
for only now and then would we get a glimpse of it ; but 
my Ashira men seemed to Iniow almost every large tree 
we passed. We advanced slowly, our manchettes helping 
to cut the undergrowth. The third day I lost my only 
shirt — at least it would not hold together ; and one of the 
legs of my pantaloons was torn off once, and I had to 
mend it with the fibre of the bark of trees. I lost, besides, 



208 LOST m THE JUNGLE. 

many patches of skin, and the sharp thorns tore my flesh. 
Snakes we would see now and then. 

We had hardly entered the jungle that first morning 
before I heard the roar of the gorilla. This at once re- 
yived my drooping spirits, as also those of my men, who 
immediately began to see looming up before them large 
pieces of gorilla meat broiled or roasted on charcoal. 

A dead silence among ourselves followed the roar of 
the big monster. Each Ashira, as if by instinct, came 
close to me for protection. We had not far to go. I 
went off in an easterly direction with friend Gambo, 
leaving all the Ashiras together in fear of the gorilla. 
We had barely gone a quarter of a mile in the direction 
from whence the roar proceeded when we heard what 
was now a much louder roar, this time quite near. We 
stood quite still, for fear of alarming the beast, which was 
evidently approaching us unawares. At last we could 
see the bushes bend toward us. Gambo and I looked at 
each other, and inspected our guns ; they were all right. 
A feeling of safety crept over us of course, for a good 
gun, with a steady aim, is a friend in need, and this we 
thought each of us possessed. 

The fear of alarming the gorilla, however, proved 
needless. He had come where he had heard a noise, 
and when he saw us he at once struck the intervening 
bushes, rose to an erect position, made a few steps in 
a waddling sort of way, stopped, and seated himself; 
then beating his vast breast, which resounded like an old 
drum, he advanced straight upon us. His dark gray 
, sunken eyes flashed with rage ; his features worked con- 
vulsively; his intensely black face looked horrid. His 
huge canines, powerful sinewy hands, and immense arms 



G ORILLAS DIE BASIL Y. 209 

told us that we must not expect mercy from the mon- 
ster. At every few paces he stopped, and, opening his 
cavernous mouth, gave vent to his thunderous roars, 
which the forest gave back with multiplied echoes until 
it was full of the din. 

He was evidently not a bit alarmed, but quite ready 
for a fight. We stood perfectly still. He advanced till 
he stood beating his breast within about six yards of us, 
when I thought it time to put an end to the scene. My 
shot hit him in the breast, and he fell forward on his 
face, dead. The gorilla seems to die easy if shot in the 
right place. This one proved to be a middle-aged male, 
and a very fine specimen, but it was utterly impossible 
to preserve liis skin in that great jungle. 

In a short time all the Ashira joined us, and soon after 
the gorilla was cut to pieces, the hands and feet being 
thrown away, and the brain being religiously preserved 
for fetiches. 

There was plenty in the camp, for during the day I 
killed a nice little ncheri (gazelle), when I also had a 
feast. 

We were now fairly in the midst of high hills, some- 
times going down, then going upy but, to save me, I 
could not tell exactly where we were going. Occasion- 
ally we followed the tracks that elephants had made, 
but finally lost them. The elephants had evidently oft- 
en changed their minds, and .retraced their steps from 
whence they came. I could not tell exactly where the 
mountains of the l^koumou-Nabouah were. The com- 
pass became of no use, for we never followed two min- 
utes the same direction. At the rate we should have ' 
had to go through the forest, taking our course by the 



210 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

compass, we should have required perhaps a month or 
more, as we would have had to go on without making 
use of the clearings that we found now and then, or the 
tracks made by the wild. beasts, or the little streams that 
came down from the hills. In fact, we would have had 
to make a road. The woods were very dense, game was 
scarce, and at last we had but one day's provisions left. 
The berries were not plentiful — ^indeed, for two or three 
days we did not eat to our heart's content for fear of 
running through our provisions too fast. 

I had with me only the suit of clothes I wore and a 
spare pair of pantaloons, for I was getting very poor, and 
my stock of garments left at Olenda was small— indeed, 
it was so small that it was-, next to nothing. My poor 
rags could hardly be kept together. At times we had to 
pass through dense and very thorny jungles, where briers 
were as thick as grass on a prairie, and the holes in my 
clothes left so many bare spots that at every advance my 
scratched body bore witness of the hard time we had 
had, and of the difficulties we should encounter if I per- 
sisted in advancing into these mountains where there 
were no paths. 

It came into my head that the Ashiras did not want 
to go ; so I called our men together, and, after lighting a 
bright fire, we talked over " the situation," and then con- 
cluded that we had better return rather than risk certain 
death by starvation. 

We rested that night in the forest, and the next morn- 
ing I gave the order to return, feeling quite disappointed 
at my non-success. We set out praying only that we 
might not starve. We still were in good spirits, and 
laughed over our misfortune, although hunger began to 



A FEA S r Or HOXE Y. 211 

pinch us bard, and I can assure you it is not a very pleas- 
ant thing. AVe were looking for berries every where, 
and the Ashiras for rat-holes and mice-nests, for mice and 
rats are great dainties among them ; squirrels and mon- 
keys, wild boars and antelopes. Guinea-fowls, parrots, and 
even serpents, but nothing was to be seen. To make it 
worse, we lost our way. We had been careless in not 
breaking boughs of trees when we followed the ele- 
phant's tracks, and we got into the wrong track of other 
elephants. Once lost in such a forest, the more you try 
to find your way the more you generally get bewildered. 
At last I took my compass, and we directed our steps, 
with its help, toward the south. 

On a sudden, a cry of joy came from the Ashira. A 
bee's hive had been discovered by one of the men. He 
pointed us to a big tree. "Look," said he, "just where 
the branches start from the trunk. Don't you see bees 
round there ? There is a big hole there, and the bees 
have their hive in it." As we saw the spot we all cried 
out, "Yes, there is a bee-hive." 

Immediately the tree was ascended, the bees smoked, 
not out, but in, for we wanted plenty of food ; the combs 
were brought down, for the man who ascended the tree 
had provided himself with large leaves and native cords 
to put the honey in, which he did, tying several parcels 
round his neck. As soon as he came down I put my 
hands on my revolvers and said, " I would blow out the 
brains of any one who should touch the honey before I 
gave it to him." So every thing was put before me. I 
unfolded the large leaves, divided the honey in exactly 
equal portions for each of us, not forgetting to put in the 
mixture the dead smoked bees, the worms, the comb, the 



212 I- OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

honey, and the dirt that was among it, for in that way 
we had more of it. It was delicious ! perfectly splendid ! 
dead bees, honey, wax, dirt, worms, went down as fast as 
we could possibly eat them, and when done, I declared, 
"I wish, boys, we had more of this honey." This sugges- 
tion of mine was responded to by a vigorous hurra, all 
shouting, Rovano ! ,rovano ! " That is so, that is so." 

We got up aftqr our meal, all feeling rather the better 
for it. I said tq myself, as I rose and felt a good deal 
more elasticity in my legs, " After all, honey eaten in the 
wa}^ we have done is far more strengthening than fine 
honey, that is so clear and clean." It is wonderful. 
Young Folks, how a few days of starvation sharpens the 
appetite. You can not understand it till you have gone 
through the ordeal of hunger. 

In the afternoon, just after descending a hill, we came 
to a very thick part of the forest. We were all silent, 
for we wanted to kill game, when suddenly one of the 
men close to me made us a sign to stop and keep per- 
fectly still, his face showing excitement and fear. I 
stopped and looked at him. Without saying a word, he 
pointed me to a tree. I looked, and could see nothing ; 
I was looking at the wrong tree. He came close to me, 
and whispered the word ng^go (leopard). I looked in 
the direction indicated. Truly there was a magnificent 
leopard resting flat on the immense horizontal branch of 
a tree not more than fifteen or twenty feet from the 
ground. 

We had narrowly escaped, for we had to pass under 
that tree. The leopard had^seen us, and was looking at 
us, as if to say, " Why do you disturb me in my sleep ?" 
for I suppose, as they move but seldom in the daytime, 



LEOPARD CUTLETS. 213 

he intended to remain there for the day. His long tail 
wagged ; he placed himself in a crouching position, 
ready to spring on some of iis, hoping, I dare say, thus 
to secure his dinner. His glaring eyes seemed to look 
at me, and, just as I thought he was ready to spring, I 
fired between his two eyes, and the shot went right 
through his head, and down he fell with a heavy crash, 
giving a fearful groan. He tried to get up again, but 
another shot finished him, and then the tremendous war- 
shouts of the Ashiras rang through the forest. I shot 
that leopard at a distance of not more than eight or ten 
yards.* 

The leopard was hardly on the ground before we rush- 
ed in with our knives. A heavy blow of the axe partly 
severed his head from his neck. We cut. off his tail to 
take it back to town, and then took his claws off, to give 
them to Olenda for a necklace. The leopard was cut in 
pieces, and we lighted a big fire, or, rather, several big 
fires. 

This leopard was fat — i^ery f aU but smelt very strong — ■ 
awfully so. The ribs looEng the best, I thought I would 
try them and have some cutlets — real leopard cutlets. I 
'flattened them and pounded them with the axe in order 
to make them tender. By that time the fire had burned 
up well, so I took from it a lot of bright burning char- 
coal, and piit my cutlets on it. The cutlets soon after- 
ward began to crisp ; the fat dropped down on the char- 
coal, and a queer fragrance filled the atmosphere round. 
Then I put on the cutlets a little salt I had with me, 
rubbed them with some Cayenne pepper, and immediate- 
ly after I began to go into them in earnest. The meat 

* See Frontispiece. 



214 ^ OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

was strong, and had an odor of musk, which was very 
J, disagreeable. I found it so at the third cutlet, and when 
I had done I took some salt in my mouth, mixed with 
Cayenne pepper, in order to see if I could not get rid of 
the taste; I could not. I wished then that the leopard 
had been some other animal. 

This hard work, starvation, and wet at nights, began to 
tell upon me. Besides, I had made no discoveries, and 
I began to wish that I had listened to friend Olenda. 
His sarcastic and hollow laugh came back to me. His 
prophetic words, " I tell you, Moguizi, that no one ever 
ascended the Nkoumou-Nabouali," were remembered. 

I began to feel weaker and weaker, and when I awoke 
two days after killing the leopard, I rose with difficulty 
from my bed of leaves. We set forward without break- 
fast. I dared not send men in the forest for berries ; we 
must be contented with those we should find on our 
route, for every hourlwas precious, and they might not 
find any, after all. So we walked on with empty stom- 
achs, longing for a sight of the Ashira country. 

I could not be mistaken ; my compass was in good or- 
der ; I had taken into account its variation. We were 
going south, if not right straight, at least in a general 
southern direction. 

On, and on, and on, through the gloomy jungle, no man 
saying a word to the other, and every man looking anx- 
iously for the first sight of prairie-land, which, with my 
diseased brain, weakened by hunger, was to me like a 
fairy-land. 

At last, on the afternoon of a day which I have never 
forgotten, a sudden lighting of the forest gloom told us 
that an open country waS near at hand. With a certain 



THE OPEX CO UNTR Y AT LAST. 215 

renewal of strength and hope we set off on a run, caring 
not how the jungle would tear us to pieces, till we reached 
a village at the very bounds of the bush. Here the peo- 
ple were much alarmed at our appearance and our fran- 
tic actions. "Food! food! food!" shouted the Ashiras. 
That was all they could say. When they discovered that 
we did not mean mischief, they approached. The chief 
had seen me at Olenda, and he made haste with his peo- 
ple to supply our necessities with all manner of food in 
their possession — plantains, pine-apples, cassada, yams, 
fowls, smoked fish. The chief gave me a royal present 
of a goat, which we killed in the wink of an eye. I ate 
so much that I feared I should be ill from putting too 
large a share into my so long empty stomach. 

We were so merry during that evening. I told the 
good old chief to come and see me at Olenda, and that 
I would give him a nice present there. 

The next morning we reached Olenda. The old chief, 
of whom I did not wonder people were afraid, came to 
meet me at the entrance of the village, for we had been 
firing guns to announce our arrival, and, as soon as he 
saw me, he said, in his deep, hollow, and piercing voice, 
" Moguizi, no Ashira has ever been or will ever go to 
the top of the Nkoumou-Nabouali !" 

My boy Macondai was very glad to see me again, and 
came with tears of joy to welcome me. The people 
were all pleased to see us. 

A child, said to be a sorcerer, was bound with cords, 
and was to be killed the next day. After a great deal of 
M talking to Olenda, the boy was not to be killed. I was 
glad I had come in time to save his life. 

The weather by this time was getting oppressively 



216 LOST IN THE JJJNQLK 

hot in the prairie. My long black hair was hanging 
too heavily on my shoulders. I wore it very long in or- 
der to astonish the natives. Every chief wanted me to 
give him a lock of my hair, and this they considered a 
very great present. They would immediately go to the 
Alumbi house to lay it at the foot of the idol, but more 
generally it wa% worn as a fetich. 

I resolved to have my hair cut, as it was too long for 
comfort. I gave Makondai a large pair of scissors I had 
with me. Of course I did not expect him to cut my 
hair as a Fifth Avenue or fashionable hotel barber would 
do, the chief point being that he should cut it tolerably 
short. In the interior of Africa I was not obliged to 
bother myself about the latest style. Collars and neck- 
ties were unknown to me. When he had done he gather- 
ed up the hair and threw it in the street. 

I was surprised some time after to hear a noise of 
scufHing and fighting, accompanied by awful shouting. 
I came out of my hut to see what was the matter. They 
were busily engaged in securing my hair, that the wind 
had scattered all around, each man picking up as much 
as he could, and trying to prevent his neighbor from 
getting any, so that he might have more to himself. Even 
old King Olenda was in the scramble for a share. He 
could not trust his people. He was afraid he would not 
get any if he depended upon them, and when I saw him 
he had a lock which his head wife had found for him. I 
never saw such a scramble for hair before ; they look- 
ed and looked after a scattered hair all day, and when 
they gave up the search I am sure not a hair could have 
been found on the ground. 




:? W 










CHAPTEK XXYII. 

DEPARTTJEE EOE THE APINGI COUNTRY. THE OVIGUI RIVER. 

DANGEROUS BRmGE TO CROSS. HOW THE BRIDGE WAS 

BUILT. GLAD TO ESCAPE DROWNING. ON THE WAY. 

REACH THE OLOUMY. 

Yonder, in a northeasterly direction, lies a country 
where live a strange people called Apingi. The Ashira, 
who now and then \dsit the country, say that a large 
river flows through it, and that the river, which is called 
N^gouyai, runs also at the foot of the Nkoumou-Nabouali 
Mountains. On the banks of that large stream many 
strange tribes of men live, of whom they have heard, 
but have never seen. 

Our evenings were often spent in talldng about that 
strange country. It was said there was an immense for- 
est between it and Ashira Land, and that there were 
paths leading to it through the jungle, which was be- 
lieved to be very dense. 

One morning I went to Olenda and said to him, " King, 
I wish to go to the Apingi country, and I want you to 
give me people to accompany me." The old man, with 
his little deep, sunken eyes, regarded me for a little 
while, for he seemed never tired of looking at me, then 
said, " Moguizi, you shall go to the Apingi country, and 
I will give you people who have been there to accom- 
pany you." And then he repeated his Jcomho, which I 
have given to you before, and returned to his hut. 

K 



•218 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

If Olenda was not tired of looking at me, I must say 
that I was never tired of looking at him, for so old a per- 
son I had never seen in my life. I have often wonder- 
ed if Olenda was not the oldest person living in the 
world.. I believe he was. 
# When the king gave the order to get ready for my de- 
parture, great preparations were made. Food was col- 
lected and cooked for my trip, quantities of ripe plantain 
v\^ere boiled and then smoked, and then, the food being 
ready, the people came who had been ordered by the 
king to accompany me. Olenda gave me three of his 
sons, or, I should rather say, great-grandchildren. They 
were to be the leaders. Adouma, Quengueza's nephew, 
was the only stranger who was allowed to accompany 
me. This was a great favor, for the law was very strict 
iu that land that no Commi should be permitted to go 
farther than the Ashira Land. Macondai was too small. 
I was afraid he would die from the hardships we should 
encounter in the jungle. Olenda was to take care of 
him. 

The names of Olenda's three great-grandchildren were 
Minsho, Iguy, and Aiaguy. Minsho, being the eldest, 
was to be the chief. 

It was a bad time of the year to start, for we were 
in the beginning of December. It rained every day, 
and tornadoes coming from that very Apingi country 
blew over us toward the sea. All the rivers were rising. 
In the valleys there was a great deal of water, but the 
prairie looked very green and beautiful. For the last 
few days it had been raining almost without intermis- 
sion, and we had to delay our departure on account of 
tlie swollen state of the rivers. 



OLENDA GIVES US HIS BLESSING. 210 

But at last, on the 6th of December, 1858, there was a 
great commotion in the village of Olenda, for we were 
really about to start. Olenda had come out, and was 
surrounded by his people. He had called our party, and 
admonished his great-grandsons to take care of his mo- 
gmzi, for the moguizi was his friend, and had come to 
him, Olenda. If Olenda had not been living, he would 
never have come into the country. The whole people 
shouted with one voice, " That is so." Then the old king 
proceeded formally to bless us, and to wish us good suc- 
cess, and that no harm should befall us on the road. 

On this occasion his majesty was painted with the 
chalk or ochre of the Alumbi, and had daubed himself 
with the ochres of his most valiant ancestors, and with 
that of his mother. He invoked their spirits to be with 
us, and afterward took a piece of wild cane, bit oif sev- 
eral pieces of the pith, and spat a little of the juice in 
the hand of each one of the party, at the same time blow- 
ing on their hands. Then, in his sonorous and hollow 
voice, which hardly seemed human, he said, solemnly, 
" Let all have good speed with you, and may your road 
be as smooth (pleasant) as the breath I blow on your 
hands." 
• Then Minsho received the cane, of which he was to 
take great care, as, if it were lost, heavy misfortunes 
would happen to us, but as long as he kept it all would 
■ be well. Minsho was to bring back the cane to Olendal 

Immediately after this we started, taking a path lead- 
ing toward the northeast. The prairie in the valleys 
was very swampy, the heavy rains having overflowed the 
lands, and we had to walk through considerable pools of 
standing water. In one of these swamps we had to wade 



220 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

Up to our waists in muddy water, and several of the party 
slipped down and seated themselves in a manner they did 
not like, to the great merriment of the others, whose turn 
was to come next, and who, when laughing at their neigh- 
bors' misfortunes, fancied they could go through safely. 
As for myself, being short in stature, I had the water on 
several occasions higher than my waist. 

Toward noon we approached the Ovigui River, a moun- 
tain torrent which had now swollen into a river, and be- 
fore reaching its natural banks we had to pass through 
a swamp in the forest for half an hour. The torrent had 
overflowed, and its waters were running swiftly down 
among the trees. I began to wonder how we were to 
cross the bridge. The Ashiras had been speaking of 
that bridge, and, in fact, we had delayed our start two or 
three days because they said the waters were too high. 

At last we came to a spot where the ground was dry, 
and a little way farther I could see the swift waters of 
the Ovigui gliding down with great speed through the 
forest. I saw at once that even an expert swimmer 
would be helpless here, and would be dashed to pieces 
against the fallen trees which jutted out in every direc- 
tion, l^oi being a very good swimmer, I did not enjoy 
the sight. There was one consolation, no crocodile could ^ 
stand this current, and these pleasant "gentlemen" had 
therefore retired to parts unknown. 

I wanted all the time to get a glim23se of the bridge, 
but had not succeeded in doing so. I called Minsho, who 
pointed out to me a queer structure which he called the 
bridge. It was nothing but a creeper stretched from one 
side to the other. 

Then Minsho told me that some years before the bed 



A PERILOUS GROSSINO. 221 

of the river was not where we stood, but some hundred 
yards over the other side. " This," he said, " is one of 
the tricks of the Ovigui.'' I found that several other of 
these mountain streams have the same trick. Of course 
Minslio said that there was a muiri (a spirit) wdio took 
the river and clianged its course, for nothing else could 
do it but a spirit. The deep channel of the Ovigui 
seemed to me about thirty yards wide. Now in this new 
bed stood certain trees which native ingenuity saw could 
be used as " piers" for a bridge. At this point in the 
stream there were two trees opposite each other, and 
about seven or eight yards distant from each shore. Oth- 
er trees on the banks were so cut as to fall upon these, 
which might have been called the piers. So a gap had 
been filled on each side. It now remained to unite the 
still open space in the centre, between the two " piers," 
and here came the tug. Unable to transport heavy 
pieces of timber, they had thrown across this chasm a 
long, slender, bending limb, which they fastened securely 
to the " piers." Of course no one could walk on this 
without assistance, so a couple of strong vines (lianas) 
had been strung across for balustrades. These w^ere 
about three or four feet abov6 the bridge, and about one 
foot higlier up the stream. 

I could barely see the vine, and my heart failed me as 
I stood looking at this breakneck or drowning concern. 
To add to the pleasurable excitement, Minsho told me 
that, on a bridge below, half a dozen people had been 
drowned the year before by tumbling into the river. 
" They were careless in crossing," added Minsho, " or 
some person had bewitched them." The waters of the 
Ovigui ran down so fast that looking at them for any 



222 



LOST m THE JUNQLE. 



length of time made my head dizzy. I was in a pretty 
fix. I could certainly not back out. I preferred to run 
the risk of being drowned rather than to show these 




OBOSSING THE OVIGTJI BIVEB. 



Ashira I was afraid, and to tell them that we had better 
go back. I think I should never have dared to look 
them in the face afterward. The whole country would 



HOLD ON FAST TO THE ROPE! 22;: 

have known that I had been afraid. The moguizi would 
have then been nowhere. A coward I should have been 
called by the savages. Rather die, I thought, than to 
have such a reputation. 

I am sure all the boys who read this book would have 
had the same feelings, and that girls could never look 
at a boy who is not possessed of corn-age. 

The engraving before you wdll help to give a good 
idea of the bridge I have just described to you, and of 
our mode of crossing. 

The party had got ready, and put their loads as high 
on their backs as they could, and in such a manner that 
these loads should slip into the river if an accident were 
to happen. The crossing began, and I watched them 
carefully. They did not look straight across, but faced 
the current, which was tremendous. The water reached 
to their waists, and the current was so swift that their 
bodies could not remain erect, but were bent in two. 
They held on to the creeper and advanced slowly side- 
ways, never raising their feet from the bridge, for if they 
had done otherwise the current would have carried them 
off the structure. 

One of the men slipped when midw^ay, but luckily re- 
covered himself. He dropped his load, among the arti- 
cles in which were two pairs of shoes ; but he held on to 
the rope and finished the " journey" by crossing one arm 
over the other. It was a curious sight. We shouted, 
" Hold on fast to the rope ! hold on fast !" The noise and 
shouting we did was enough to make one deaf. 

Another, carrying one of my guns, so narrowly escaped 
falling as to drop that, which w^as also swept off and lost. 
Meantime I wondered if I should follow in the wake of 



224 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

my shoes and gun. At any rate, I was bound to show 
the Ashira that I was not afraid to cross the bridge, even, 
as I have said, at the risk of being drowned. It would 
have been a pretty thing to have these people believe 
that I was susceptible of fear. The next thing would 
have been that I should have been plundered, then mur- 
dered. These fellows had a great advantage over me. 
Their garments did not trouble them. 

At last all were across but Minsho, Adouma, and my- 
self. I had stripped to my shirt and trowsers, and set 
out on my trial, followed by Minsho, who had a vague 
idea that if I slipped he might catch me. Adouma went 
ahead. Before reaching the bridge I had to wade in the 
muddy water. Then I went upon it and marched slow- 
ly against the tide, never raising my feet, till at last I 
came to the tree. There the current was tremendous. I 
thought it would carry my legs off the bridge, which was 
now three feet under the water. I felt the water beating 
against my legs and waist. I advanced carefully, feeling 
my way and slipping my feet along without raising them. 
The current was so strong that my arms were extended 
to their utmost length, and the water, as it struck against 
my body, bent it. The water was really cold, but, despite 
of that, perspiration fell from my face, I was so excited. 
I managed to drag myself to the other side, holding fast 
to the creeper, having made up my mind never to let go 
as long as I should have strength to hold on. Should my 
feet give way, I intended to do like the other man, and 
get over by crossing one arm over the other. At last, 
weak and pale with excitement, but outwardly calm, I 
reached the other side, vowing that I would never try 
such navigation again. I would rather have faced sev- 



WE RE A CH ODJIOL PRAIRIE. 225 

oral gorillas, lions, elephants, and leopards, than cross the 
Ovigui bridge. 

Putting ourselves in walking order again, we plunged 
into the great forest, which was full of ebony, barwood, 
India-rubber, and other strange trees. About two miles 
from the Ovigui we reached a little prairie, some miles 
long and a few hundred yards wide, which the natives 
called Odjiolo. It seemed like a little island incased in 
that great sea of trees. 

What a nice little spot it would have been to build a 
camp under some of the tall, long-spread branches of 
trees which bordered it! But there was no time for 
camping. There were to be no stops during the daytime 
till we reached the Apingi country. 

A few miles after leaving the Odjiolo prairie we came 
to a steep hill called Mount Oconcou. As we ascended 
we had to lay hold of the branches in order to help our- 
selves in the ascent, and we had to stop several times in 
order to get our breath. We finally reached a plateau 
from which we could see Nkoumou-lSTabouali Mount- 
ains. Then we surmounted the other hills, with inter- 
vening plains and valleys, all covered with dense forest, 
and at last found ourselves on the banks of a most beau- 
tiful little purling mountain brook, which skirted the 
base of our last hill. This nice little stream was called 
the Aloumy or Oloumy. Here we lit our fires, built 
shelters, and camped for the night, all feeling perfectly 
tired out, and I, for one, thankful for the nice camp we 
had succeeded in building, for I needed a good night's 
rest. „ 

K2 



CHAPTEE XXYIII. 

A GORILLA. HOW HE ATTACKED ME. 1 KILL HIM. MIN- 

SHO TELLS A STOEY OF TWO GORILLAS FIGHTING. WE 

MEET KING KEMANDJI. 1 FALL INTO AN ELEPHANT-PIT. 

REACH APINGI LAND. 

The next morning we felt mncli refreshed, and once 
more entered the forest, following a footpath which was 
sometimes good, but oftener very bad. The country be- 
came more rugged and mountainous. On every side we 
met beautiful little streams of water wending their way 
through the woods. Yery often we had to march in the 
bed of some purling brook, as the easiest way we could 
find. This second day was exceedingly trying to our 
feet, for we made our way the greatest part of the time 
through a dense and gloomy forest. Several times we 
heard, at a great distance, the roar of the gorilla and the 
heavy footsteps of elephants. We heard also the cries 
of the nshiego-mbouve, and now and then the shrill cry 
of a monkey. 

In the afternoon I was startled by the roar of a gorilla, 
and it was three quarters of an hour before we came near 
liim. He was then close to the path we were following, 
and roared incessantly. I find that I can not get accus- 
tomed to the roar of the gorilla, notwithstanding the 
number I have hunted and shot ; it is still an awful sound 
to me. The long reverberations coming from his power- 
ful chest, the vindictive bark by which each roar is pre- 



THE APPRO A CH OF A G OEILLA. 227 

ceded when about to attack, the hollow monotone of the 
first explosion, the ugly, ferocious look which he gives to 
his enemies, all are awe-inspiring, and proclaim the great 
beast the monarch of the forest of Equatorial Africa. 

When we came near him, he, in turn, at once made 
toward us, uttering a succession of bark-like yells, denot- 
ing his rage, and reminding me of the inarticulate rav- 
ings of a maniac. Balancing his huge body with his 
arm, the animal approached us, every few moments 
stopping to beat his breast, and throwing his head back 
to utter his tremendous roar. His fierce, gloomy eyes 
glared upon us, the short hair on the top of his head was 
rapidly agitated, and the wrinkled face was contorted 
with rage. It was like a very devil, and I do not won- 
der at the superstitious terror with which the natives re- 
gard the monster. 

His manner of approach gave me once more an oppor- 
tunity of seeing with how much difiiculty he maintains 
himself in an erect posture. His short legs are not able 
firmly to support the vast body. They totter beneath 
the great weight, and the walk is a sort of waddle, in 
which the long and prodigiously strong arms are used in 
a clumsy way to balance the body, and keep up the ill- 
sustained equilibrium. Twice he sat down to roar. 

My gun had, of course, been loaded in the morning (I 
always took care to reload my guns each day), and could 
thus be depended upon, so I shouldered it, feeling easy. 
I waited till he was close enough, and then, as he once 
more stopped to roar, I delivered my fire, and brought 
him dovtTQ on his face — dead. 

His huge body proclaimed his giant strength. There 
is enough humanity in the beast to make a dead one ai; 



228 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

awful sight, even to accustomed eyes, as mine were by 
this time. It was as though I had killed some monstrous 
creature which had something of the man in it. 

We could do nothing with the gorilla, so the Ashiras 
took as much meat out of his body as they could conve- 
niently carry. We cut his head off and carried it with 
us. It was a huge and horrible head. Looking at his 
enormous canine teeth, I saw at once that the monster 
must have had a tremendous fight a year or two before, 
for one of them had been broken off in the socket of 
the jaw. What a grand sight it must be to see a goril- 
la fight ! This reminded me of the stories I had some- 
times heard from the natives regarding the fearful con- 
flicts the male gorillas have among themselves for the 
possession of a wife. Indeed, the fight that this one was 
engaged in must have been a severe one, for not only had 
one of his large teeth been broken, but one of his arms 
was shorter than the other, and had evidently been broken 
and united again, not, I am sure, by a surgeon-gorilla, for 
I do not believe they have any, but nature and time were 
the healing processes. There is a skeleton of a gorilla in 
the British Museum, the arm of which had been broken, 
no doubt, in some conflict, but when the animal was killed 
the wound had healed, and the bones of the arm had 
united. 

Minsho promised to tell us the story of a fight between 
two gorillas in the evening by the camp-fire. 

How tremendous that blow must have been, I thought, 
in order to break that powerful muscular and thick-set 
bony arm ! The forest must have been filled with the 
loud yells of the monster as he fought desperately against 
his enemy. . 



MINSffOS QOMILLA STORY. 229 

We continued our way after fording a stream about 
one hundred and twenty feet wide, called the Louvendji, 
carrying our gorilla's head with us, and toward dusk built 
our camp. After we had seated ourselves by the fire- 
side, and I had taken my own modest meal, Minsho got 
up, after filling himself with gorilla meat, and said, " Mo- 
guizi, I promised you, after you had killed this big goril- 
la this morning, that I would tell you a gorilla story. 
Are you ready to hear it ?" " I am ready to hear it," I 
said,"' and all the party shouted " All are ready to hear 
it." 

" Long ago," said he, " before I was born, and in the 
time of my father — for the story I am going to tell you 
is fi'om my father — there was a terrible gorilla fight in 
the woods. My father had been cutting dowTi trees in 
the forest in order to make a plantation, and was return- 
ing home, when suddenly he heard, not far from him, the 
yells of gorillas, and he knew that the beasts were coming 
quickly toward him. 

" l^ot far from where he stood there was a large -liol- 
low tree, into which he at once entered and hid himself, 
for he was afraid of the gorillas. He had vdt\\ him only 
his axe, and of course could not dream of fighting the 
gorillas, especially as there were two of them. He had 
hardly entered his hiding-place before the gorillas made 
their appearance. My father trembled with fear lest 
they should discover where he was, but they were so en- 
raged at each other that they did not busy themselves 
about what surrounded them." 

Minsho was getting excited, and his eyes began to spar- 
]<le as he came to the fighting part of his story. There 
wa? a pause and a dead silence, for we wanted to hear 



230 i OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

about the fight of the two gorillas. Minsho suddenly 
gave a tremendous yell in the Ashira fashion. " Now," 
said he, " open your ears, for you are going to hear what 
my father saw. 

" The two gorillas seized each other and rolled on the 
ground, yelling. One at last gave the other a bite, which 
made his enemy give an awful shriek of pain. They 
then got up, their faces covered with blood, their bodies 
lacerated, and, looking fiercely at one another with their 
deep-sunken eyes, each gave a yell of defiance, and both 
slowly advanced again ; then the larger, which was prob- 
ably the elder, stopped, both wanting rest in order to 
breathe, and then they pounced upon each other, scream- 
ing, yelling, bellowing, beating their chests, retreating, 
and advancing. At last they both stood on their hind 
legs a few rods from each other, their eyes seeming to 
flash fire, and advanced once more for a deadly fight, 
when the older and bigger one raised his hand and gave 
his antagonist a most fearful blow, which broke the oth- 
er's arm. Immediately the badly-wounded gorilla fled, 
leaving the old gorilla master of the fleld; but then the 
victor was also covered with blood. My father still trem- 
bled, for he was afraid of being discovered. After a 
time, when all was silent, he looked round, and saw that 
the victorious gorilla had also gone off." 

By this time Minsho was covered with perspiration ; 
}*B fancied, I suppose, that he had seen the fight himself. 
He concluded by saying, " I have no doubt the gorilla 
we killed this morning lost one of his big tusks in a great 
fight with another gorilla," in which opinion we all coin- 
cided. 

After this atory we lay down on our beds of leaves. 



W£ APPRO A CH THE APING I CO UNTR Y. 231 

and, surrounded by blazing tires, all went to sleep, hoping 
to rest well, for we had a hard day's work before us on 
the morrow. 

In the morning the songs of birds awoke us from our 
sleep. After roasting a ripe plantain and eating it, I 
started once more, following a path by which we travel- 
ed all day. Again no game was seen ; we did not even 
meet the footsteps of an elephant ; and a little before sun- 
set we came to a bando or olako, built by the Ashira and 
Apingi people especially for the convenience of travelers. 

The bando was roofed with peculiar and very large 
leaves, here called the shaysliayray and the quaygayray. 
Here we concluded to stop for the night. Not even the 
cry of an owl or of a hyena disturbed the stilli^ss ; no 
elephant's footstep came to awake us from our slumber ; 
the howls of the leopard were not to be heard. 

Several days had been thus spent in the jungle, but we 
were now compelled to hurry along, for we had no food. 
In the mean time we had a view of some small prairies, 
and in one of them had seen villages, which the Ashiras 
said were those of the Bakalai ; but as Minsho and the 
rest of the Ashiras did not w^ant to go near them, we re- 
entered the forest. " The Bakalai here," said Minsho, 
who I could see was not gifted with any great amount 
of bravery, " always stop and fight people." So we man- 
aged to pass their villages unseen. 

Minsho said we were approaching the country of the 
Apingi. He was not mistaken. In the afternoon, while 
we were passing through dense woods, we heai'd people 
talking not far from us, and I came suddenly on a man 
who turned out to be Remandji, king of the Apingi. 

At the sight of me he and his company stood silent 



232 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

and amazed for a few minutes, when he began to dance 
about me in a most unroyal and crazj manner, shouting 
again and again, " The spirit has come to see me ! the 
spirit has come to see my country !" He kept looking 
at me steadfastly, and for a while I thought his majesty 
had gone out of his mind. 

King Remandji looked like a very fine old negro. 
The question that arose in my mind was, " How did the 
king happen to be in the woods ?" His majesty had come 
to fish in a neighboring creek, for kings here are modest 
in their tastes, and was on his way to meet his wives, who 
had been sent on before him. He knew Olenda's sons, 
and directed them to a certain spot, and said he would 
be back that evening and bring his wives with him. 

We parted with the king, rejoicing in the prospect 
of having fish and plantain for dinner. Meantime we 
went on, and when the evening came we all begai/to feel 
somewhat anxious about our quarters. Game was said 
to be plentiful in the forest, so I pushed a little out of 
the path, and, thinking I had seen something like a ga- 
zelle, I stepped forward toward it, when down into an 
elephant-trap I went, feeling quite astonished at finding 
myself at the bottom of it. It was a wonder my gun did 
not go off. 

This trap I had fallen into was about t©n feet deep, 
eight feet long, and six feet wide. As soon as I recov- 
ered sufficiently to comprehend my position, I began to 
holla and shout for help, l^o one answered me. I 
shouted and shouted, but no reply came. I was in a 
pretty fix. " Suppose," said I to myself, " that a huge 
snake, as it crawls about, should not see this hole, and 
tumble down on top of me." The very thought made 



/ AM RESCUED FROM THE PIT. 



233 



me shout louder and louder. At times I would call, 
" Ajagui ! Ayagui ! Minsho ! Minslio !" Finally I fired 
a gun, and then another, and soon I heard the voices of 
my men shouting " Moguizi, where are you ? Moguizi, 
where are you ?" " Here I am !" I cried. " AVhere T I 
heard Minsho repeat. " Close 'by — here, Minsho, in a big 
elephant-pit ; look out, lest you fall into it yourself." 
Minsho by this time knew where I was, and called all 
the men. They immediately cut a creeper and let it 




THE ELEniAM'-TEAP. 



down. I fired off my gun, and sent it up first, and then, 
holding fast to the creeper, I was lifted out of the pit, 
and very glad I was too, I assure you. The wonder 
to me was that I did not break my neck in getting 
into it. 

Finally we reached the place where Hemandji had di- 
rected Minsho to go. We lighted our fires, and soon aft- 
er Remandji made his appearance. He looked again 
and again at me. His women were frightened, and did 



234 ^OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

not show themselves. Happily, his majesty brought some 
plantains and fish with him. 

I thought I had before known what musquitoes were, 
but I never saw the like of those we had in this spot. 
They certainly must have been a new kind, for their sting 
was like that of a bee, and very painful. Hundreds of 
them were buzzing around each one of us. My eyes, 
hands, and legs were swollen. I had a musquito-net with 
me, but inside of it they would get, how I could not tell. 
Several times I got out of the net, and when I thought I 
had shaken it well, and driven every one of them off, I 
would get under it again in the twinkle of an eye ; but 
the musquitoes, which seemed perfectly famished, were 
like vultures, and would get in at the same time that I 
did. The Ashiras declared that they had never before 
seen such a place for musquitoes. Smoke and fire seem- 
ed to have no effect upon them. I never suffered such 
torture in my life. They beat all I had ever seen in the 
shape of musquitoes. The next morning I was so ter- 
ribly bitten that I looked as if I had the measles or the 
chicken-pox. 

Remandji, who had built his camp next to ours, came 
declaring that the people must have bewitched the place 
where we had slept, and off lie took us to his village. 
After a three hours' march, we came at last, through a 
sudden opening in the forest, to a magnificent stream, 
the Rembo Apingi or Ngouyai. I stood in amazement 
and delight, looking at the beautiful and large river I 
had just discovered, and the waters of which were glid- 
ing toward the big sea, when a tremendous cheer from 
the Ashiras announced to the Apingi, Remandji's sub- 
jects, who had made their appearance on the opposite 



GRAND RECEPTION AT REMAND JL 235 

bank, that a spirit had come to visit them. The latter 
responded to the cheering, and presently a great number 
of exceedingly frail flat canoes and several rafts were 
pushed across, and soon reached our side of the river ; 
they had come to ferry us over. The Apingi people live 
only on the right bank of thia noble river. 

I got into a very small canoe, which was managed with 
great skill by the Apingi boatman. I did not see how he 
could keep his equilibrium in the frail-looking shell. 

The shouting on the Apingi side was becoming louder 
and louder, and when I landed the excitement was in- 
tense. " Look at the spirit !" shouted the multitude. 
" Look at his feet ! look at his hair ! look at his nose !" 
etc., etc. 

They followed me till I was safely housed in one of 
the largest huts in the town, which was about twelve feet 
long and seven feet broad, with a piazza in front. When 
all my luggage was stored there was hardly room to 
move. I had indeed reached a strange country. 

Presently Remandji came to me, followed by all the 
old men of his town and several chiefs of the neighbor- 
ing villages. Twenty-four fowls were laid at my feet; 
bunches of plantains, with baskets of cassava. And Re- 
man dji, turning toward the old men, said, " I have beheld 
what our fathers never saw — what you and I never saw 
before. I bid thee welcome, O spirit ! I thank your fa- 
ther. King Olenda," said he, turning to Minsho, " for send- 
ing this spirit to me." Then he added, " Be glad, O 
spirit, and eat of the things we give thee." 

Whereupon, to my great astonishment, a slave was 
handed over to me, bound, and Remandji said, " Kill him ; 
he is tender and fat, and you must be hungry." 



236 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

1 was not prepared for sncli a present. They thonght 
I was a cannibal — an eater of limnan flesh — and there 
stood before me a fat negro, who dnring the night had 
been caught, for Remandji had sent word to the people 
of my coming, and in his forethought determined that I 
must have a good meal on my arrival. 

Then I shook my head, spat violently on the ground, 
which is a great way of showing disgust, the people all 
the time looking at me with perfect astonishment. I 
made Minsho tell them that I abhorred people who ate 
human flesh, and that 1, and those who were like me in 
the spirit-land, never did eat human flesh. 

Just fancy ! Wliat a fine present ! A nice fat negro, 
ready for cooking. It was like the presentation of a fat 
calf. 

Remandji then said, " What becomes of all the people 
we sell, and that go down the river for you to take away ? 
We hear you fatten them before they are killed. There- 
fore I gave you this slave, that you might kill him and 
make glad your heart." 

A deep blush came over my face, I felt so ashamed. 
It was true, the white man had come into their country 
for hundreds of years and carried away their people. 

After my refusal of the fat negro, who was glad to get 
free, Remandji's wives cooked the food for me which had 
before been presented. Th« kii^g tasted of every thing 
that was laid before me, and drank of the water which 
was brought for me to drink. Such is the custom, for 
the people are afraid of poison ; and the wife always 
tastes of the food she presents to her husband before he 
eats it, and the water he is going to drink. 

The uproar in the village was something terrific. I 



A HARD BED. 



237 



thought I should be deafened, and that their wonder at 
seeing me would never cease. 

For a bed I had but a few sticks, but I was glad that 
night to lay upon them, and to have one of those little 
huts to shelter me from rain, for I had had a hard time, 
I can assui*e you, since I had left Olenda's. 

Before going to sleep I thanked the kind God who had 
watched over me and led me safely into the midst of 
tribes of men whom no white man had ever seen before. 




CHAPTEE XXIX. 

riEST DAY IN APmGI LAND. 1 FIEE A GUN. — THE NA- 
TIVES AEE FEIGHTENED. 1 GIVE THE KING A WAIST- 
COAT. HE WEAES IT. — THE SAPADI PEOPLE. THE 

MUSIC-BOX. 1 MUST MAKE A MOUNTAIN OF BEADS. 

In the morning when I awoke I looked round my 
room. Of course I did not have to look far, for the 
house was small ; besides, it was filled with my baggage. 
Several fetiches hung on the walls, and in a corner was 
the skull of an antelope fastened to the roof. There 
were no windows, the floor of pounded yellow clay, and 
just by the few sticks which formed my bed were the 
remains of an extinguished fire. It was daylight, for I 
could hear the birds singing. , The sun had risen, for I 
could see the sunshine through the crevices of the walls, 
which were made of the bark of trees, and through these 
the light came in. I listened to hear voices in the vil- 
lage ; but no, all was silent. I got up, intending to go 
to the river to wash my face, and opened the door, 
which had been made with the bottom of an old canoe. 
Every hut in the village had its door, for there were 
famished leopards in the forest which often carried away 
people. 

I had hardly stepped out of the house when I saw be- 
fore me a very large crowd of people, who gave a loud 
yell at my appearance. I instinctively put my hand on 
one of my revolvers and held my gun in readiness ; then 



A BEAUTIFUL VILLA GR 239 

looked at these people, who had been surrounding my hut 
since daylight, without saying a word. 

Their yells were pretty loud. I knew not what they 
meant at first. I looked at them, when most of the 
women and children, and some of the men, ran away, 
ahhough I cried out to them not to be afraid. 

King Kemandji soon arrived to say good-morning to 
me, and, while he was by my side, I raised the double- 
barreled gun I had with me, which I had loaded with a 
very heavy charge of powder, and fired it off. The gun 
recoiled on my shoulder, and hurt me slightly. The peo- 
ple fled in dismay, and the noise of the detonation re- 
echoed through the forest. 

Remandji regarded me with fear and trembling. I 
reassured him by a smile, and by putting on his head a 
most flaming red cap which I had got ready for him. 
How he admired the bright red ! He shouted to his 
people to come back, which they all did. 

After washing my face in the river I returned to the 
village. It was a beautiful village. The houses were 
small, most of them being eight or ten feet long and six 
or eight feet wide. The walls were built with the bark 
of trees, and were about five feet high. The roofs were 
thatched either with large leaves or with the leaves of 
the palm, and at the top were about seven feet high. At 
the rear of the houses were large groves of plantain-trees. 

Walking through the street, I came to the big idol, or 
mbuiti of the place, which stood under a ouandja (a cov- 
ered roof), and there kept guard. That morning a few 
plantains, ground-nuts, sugar-cane, and a piece of a deer 
were before it. There was also a vessel with palm wine. 

After walking to the end of the village I came back 



240 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

to Eemandji, the people hollaing and shouting all the 
time, "The good spirit has come ! the spirit has come !" 

I breakfasted outside of my hut, a few roasted plan- 
tains and a boiled fowl being my fare. How wild the 
shouts of these people were when they saw me eating ! 
They were perfectly frantic. The fork was an object of 
the greatest wonder. They exclaimed, " The spirit does 
not eat with his hand ; the spirit has a queer mouth ; the 
spirit has teeth that are not filed sharp to a point ; the 
spirit has a nose ; how strange is the hair of the spirit !" 

The crowd was pouring in from all the surrounding 
villages, and the excitement was intense. They w^ere 
afraid, but, in despite of their fear, they came to see the 
great spirit who had arrived in their country. 

After breakfast I called Kemandji, and led him into 
my hut, and also the two head men, or gray beards of his 
village. Then I put on his majesty a flaming red waist- 
coat. I could not spare a coat, and I had no pantaloons 
to give him ; luckily, they never want, to wear the latter 
in this part of the world. He looked splendid with his 
waistcoat on. I also put round his neck a necklace of 
large blue and white beads, of the size of sparrow's eggs. 
I gave him, into the bargain, a looking-glass, and he was 
very much frightened when he saw his face in it, and he 
looked at me as if to say " What next T , 

To the two elders, or graybeards, I gave each a neck- 
lace of large beads, and put on the head of each a red 
cap. Then we came out. As soon as the people saw 
them appear in such great style, they became very wild. 
I fired two guns, and Remandji and the two graybeards 
told the people not to be afraid. Immediately, guided 
by the same instinct, they all advanced toward us in a 



A GRAND BALL. 241 

half -sitting posture, clapping tlieir hands, and at the same 
time shouting " Ah ! ah ! ah !" When they thought they 
were near enough, they stopped, looked at me with a 
queer expression, and then shouted, " You are a great 
spirit ! you are a great spirit !" and then they suddenly 
got up, and ran away to the other end of the village. 

" Keally the Apingi country is a strange land," said I 
to myself. 

In the afternoon several thousand strangers filled the 
village. They had come to look at me, but before sun- 
set almost all of them had returned to their homes. 
They had come by water and by land, from the moun- 
tains and from the valleys. The story of the arrival of 
the spirit in Eemandji Village had spread far and wide, 
and every one came to see if it was true, desiring to see 
for themselves. But how afraid they were when I looked 
at them ! How fast they ran away, and how quickly they 
would come back, but always keeping at a respectful dis- 
tance ! 

In the evening there was a grand ball. The noise was 
horrible, the dancing was grand, the gesticulations and 
contortions were funny, the tam-tams sounded strangely, 
the singing was powerful, and I, of course, enjoyed the 
affair amazingly. I staid out all night to please them, 
and they were glad to see me look at them and laugh. 

After a few days I became the great friend of a good 
many. I gave them beads, especially the w^omen. I 
handled their littie babies, and never got angry, though 
sometimes their curiosity annoyed me very much indeed. 

Remandji and I became great friends. He was a real 
nice king, and we spent hours together. I was obliged 
to use Minsho as an interpreter, for I do not understand 

L 



242 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

the Apingi tongue very well. It seems to me like the 
language of the Mbinga, a tribe which I have spoken of 
in " Stories of the Gorilla Country." 

One day a great crowd came and asked me to take my 
shoes off. When I asked them why, they said they want- 
ed to know if I had toes like they had. " You have ears 
like we have," said they, " and we want to see if you 
have cloven feet like an antelope. We want to see if 
your feet are like those of a people who live far away 
from here, of whom we have heard, and who are called 
Sa^adi. Yes," they exclaimed, with one voice, " far 
away in the mountains there are Sapadi ; they do not 
have feet like other people; they have feet like ante- 
lopes ; they have cloven feet." 

I told them that there were no such people. Remandv 
ji immediately called one of his slaves, a man to whose 
country none of the Apingi had ever been (the Shimba 
country), and he declared positively, with a look of great 
truthfulness, that he had seen Sapadi. Another man 
also came forward and declared the same thing — they 
were people like the Apingi, only their feet were like 
those of antelopes. 

To please them, I took off my boots. This was done 
in the midst of most vociferous cheers. They took my 
socks to be my skin. After my socks were taken off, 
and my naked feet burst upon their sight, the excitement 
became intense. The idol was brought out, the drums 
began to beat, and tl^ey sang songs to me, shouting and 
hollaing in the most approved African manner. Ke- 
mandji took one of my feet in his lap and touched it, 
declaring that it was softer than the skin of a leopard. 
When his people saw this they became frantic. " The 



WHAT MUSIC 31 A Y BO. 



243 



great spirit has come ! the great spirit has come !" they 
shouted ; " the king holds one of his feet !" Remandji 
rose, and, in a half-squatting position, danced and sang 
before me, the drums in the mean time beating furious- 
ly. The noise was deafening. They took me for a god. 
When they had calmed down a little I went into my 
hut, wound up my large music-box, and, coming out, set 
it on an Apingi stool in the midst of the crowd, who im- 
mediately retreated farther off. I then let the spring 
go, and at once the music began to play. A dead silence 
followed the tumult ; the drums dropped down from be- 



--^^f'fii. ,1 /It 1 1' hi I III III 




THE MtrSIO-BOX. 



tween the drummers' legs ; a leaf falling on the ground 
could have been heard ; they were perfectly mute. Re- 
man dji and the people looked at me in affright. I went 
away, but of course the music continued to go on. They 



244 ^^^T IN THE JUNGLE. 

looked from me to the box, and back again, and finally 
exclaimed, " Lo ! the devil speaks to him." I disappeared 
into the woods, and the music continued — the devil con- 
tinued to speak. 

The town is filled once more vdth strangers from the 
countries round, who have come to see the spirit that is 
stopping with Remandji. The forests are full of olakos 
in which these people sleep. The women appear hide- 
ously ugly ; every one of them seems to have three or 
four children, and they are tattooed all over. On the 
bodies of many of them one could not find a spot as big 
as a pea that was free from this tattooing. They think 
that cutting their bodies in this way is beautifying. It 
is simply hideous. The}^ file their teeth sharp to a point, 
which gives their faces a frightfully savage appearance ; 
but, with all their ugliness, the Apingi wxre kind-heart- 
ed, always treated me well, and loved me. I always tried 
to do what was right by them. 

One day they saw me writing my journal, and they 
said I was making print and cloth to give them. During 
the nights they all believed I did not sleep, but that I was 
at work making beads and all the things I gave them, 
whereupon ensued a great council of above thirty Apin- 
gi chiefs, who, after due deliberation with Eemandji, 
who was at their head, came to me, surrounded by thou- 
sands of their people, and then their king delivered the 
following speech : " Spirit, you are our king ; you have 
come to our country to do us good." The people, with 
one accord, repeated what Remandji had said — " You 
can do every thing." I wondered what was coming 
next. Then, in a loud voice, he added, " Proceed now 
to make for us a pile of beads, for we love the beads you 



/ 3IUST MANUFACTURE GOODS. 245 

make and give us. Make a pile of them as high as the 
tallest tree in the village," and he pointed to a giant tree 
which could not have been less than two hundred feet in • 
height, " so that our women and children may go and 
take as many beads as they wish. You must give us 
cloth, brass kettles, copper rods, guns, and powder." 

The people liked the speech of Remandji, and shout- 
ed " Yo ! yo !" a sign of approval. 

He continued : " The people will come to see you after 
you have gone ; and when we shall say to them, ' The 
spirit who came has gone,' they will say, ^ It is a lie ! it 
is a lie ! no spirit ever came to visit Eemandji.' But 
when the whole country shall be filled with the things 
which we ask you to make, then, though they do not see 
you, they will say, ' Truly a spirit has visited the land of 
the Apingi, and lived in Eemandji's village.' " 

The faces of the crowd were beaming with satisfac- 
tion, for they approved of Remandji's speech. Then 
there was a dead silence again. I did not know what to 
say. I did not want to tell them I was a spirit, nor did 
I wish to tell them I was not one, for prestige is a great 
thing in a savage country. 

They felt grieved when I told them I brought them 
things, and did not make them. They did not believe 
me, and said, " Thy spirit does not wish to do what we 
ask of it. Why, spirit, will you not do what we ask 
you!" and then the whole crowd began to dance and 
sing before me, saying, " Moguizi, do not be angry with 
us. Moguizi, we love you. Moguizi, you are good. Mo- 
guizi, stay with us." 

On my continued refusal they scattered, and I went 
among them. 



^ 


^ 


1 




N-^J^^^^^ 


^ 


M 



CHAPTER XXX. 

A LAEGE FLEET OF CANOES. — WE ASCEND THE EIVEE. 

THE KING PADDLES MY CANOE. — AGOBl's VILLAGE. — WE 

UPSET. THE KING IS FUEIOUS. — OKABI, THE CHAEMEE. 

1 EEAD THE BIBLE. — THE PEOPLE AEE AFEAID. 

Remandji and I had been talking of traveling togeth- 
er, and I had told him that I wished to ascend the river. 
He promised to have a fleet of canoes prepared, and that 
his people would turn out en masse. 

He was as good as his word. The appointed day came. 
Quite a little fleet had been brought together. But what 
canoes-! my goodness ! what a difference between them 
and the canoes of the Commi country ! They were very 
small — mere nut-shells. Remandji proudly pointed to 
the fleet he had collected to take me up. While he was 
talking to me I was thinking seriously of the great proba- 
bility of capsizing, and the prospect was not exactly cheer- 
ing, for the current of the river was strong. Though 
sometimes I have no objection to a ducking, I had strong 
objections to getting it in that manner, with all my 
clothes on. 

Then the order for departure was given by the king. 
There was no help for it. I had asked canoes to go up. 
Remandji had done the thing in great style. I could 
not back out. 

I was led in front of the royal canoe. Half a dozen 



APING I CANOES. 247 

of these could have been easily put inside of one of 
Quengueza's canoes. The royal canoe was not much bet- 
ter than any other canoe, though the largest one had been 
chosen for me. 

I made my preparations against accident — that is to 
say, ready in case we capsized. I tied my compass to a 
cord about my neck ; then I tied my gun fast by a long 
rope to the canoe, which would float at any rate ; and I 
had a small box of clothes, a shirt, and two pairs of shoes, 
which I tied also. I tied a handkerchief round my head, 
and put my watch inside on the top, so that it would not 
get wet. 

There was not a host of people to go in the royal ca- 
noe — Remandji, a paddler, and myself — that was all. 
ISTo more could get in with safety. There was not so 
much royalty and state as you see in the department of 
the navy. The admiral of the fleet I could not find. 

Rafts are used extensively, but only for crossing the 
river or in going down the stream. 

Each canoe has two or three men in it. How small 
they all were ! quite flat on the bottom, and floating- 
only a few inches above the water. They are very well 
designed for the swift current of the river, which runs, 
at this time of the year (December), at the rate of four 
miles an hour after a heavy rain. 

Remandji was dressed in the flaming red waistcoat I 
had given him. The king paddled the canoe. As for 
me, I was perfectly satisfied to seat myself in the bottom, 
expecting all the time to upset, for steadiness was not 
part of our programme. I was quite uncomfortable, and 
as the canoe leaked, the part of my pantaloons upon 
which I was seated was a little more than damp ; but no 



248 L OST IN THE JUNGLE. 

matter, it was cooling. But I could not help wishing the 
Apingi canoes at the bottom of the river ; this hard wish 
of mine, of course, to be fulfilled when I should not be in 
one of them. 

Remandji shouted with all his might to the fleet of 
small canoes to keep out of our way, for surely if a ca- 
noe had knocked against ours we should have been in 
the water before we had time to give the fellows our 
blessing. 

We went gayly up the river, the royal canoe being 
ahead of all the others, Remandji and his man paddling 
as hard as they could. The people of the villages we 
passed begged Remandji to stop ; but our fleet was bound 
for a village whose chief was called Agobi, the father- 
in-law of Remandji, and who had made friends with me. 
We at last reached his village. 

Loud cheers from the villagers welcomed us. Several 
canoes were upset at the landing by being knocked 
against each other; but the Apingi swim like fish, and 
the suit of clothes they wore (their own skin) dried so 
quickly that a wetting was of very little moment to them. 

There was a grand Apingi dance that night, and no 
sleep for me. 

After two days spent at Agobi's village we began to 
ascend the river again, but the current was so swift that 
we hardly seemed to make any headway. There was a 
good deal of shouting, hollaing, and cursing in the Apingi 
language before we fairly left the shore. The banks of 
this noble stream, down to the water's edge, were a mass 
of verdure. I began to congratulate myself that there 
would be no capsizing, and that I was not going to take 
a bath in the river. Our canoe was, as I have said, 



A CAPSIZE. 249 

ahead of all the others, when suddenly a canoe, whicli 
was crossing the river from the left bank, came close to 
us. We thought, however, that it would pass above our 
bow, but it was borne down by the current, and, before 
we could get out of the way, swept down upon us in spite 
of the shouts of Reman dji and his man. The canoe 
had only an old woman in it. Bang ! bang ! and before 
I had time to say " Look out," both canoes were capsized, 
and there we were in the river. 

Remandji was perfectly frantic, cursing the old woman 
while he was swimming. She did not in the least mind 
what he said, but swam off down stream like a buoy, 
shouting continually, " Where is my bunch of plantains ? 
Give me back my plantains I" for I must say that, if we 
were angry at her, and blamed her for the accident, she 
was equally angry at us for the same reason, each think- 
ing it was the other's fault. 

The whole fleet was in great excitement, and Remand- 
ji was in a fearful rage at the idea of any one upsetting 
his moguizi. I was still in the water, holding on to the 
canoe as hard as I could, looking after the old woman, 
who soon reached the shore, and, climbing out at a bend 
of the river, waited for her capsized canoe to float along, 
which having secured, she got in and paddled off, full of 
complaints at losing her plantains, and, of course, blam- 
ing us for it. Remandji kept telling her all the time (I 
give you the literal translation, for the negroes do not 
mince words) to shut her mouth ; but the more he told 
her to keep still, the more she talked. 

As for me, I at last succeeded in reaching the shore, 
Remandji securing the canoe. Nothing was lost, and my 
gun was safe ; it was not loaded, for which I was thankful. 

L 2 

/ 



250 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

It was a good thing that we had kept close to the 
banks of the river, for if we had capsized in the middle 
of the stream we should have gone a mile or two down 
the river before reaching the shore. I was not sorry 
when we got back to Remandji's village, and his people 
were very glad to see us return. 

I do not know what these Apingis will think about me 
next. Remandji was a very intelligent fellow^ As I 
am writing about him, I fancy I see his face and that I 
am talking to him. Remandji was not a very tall ne- 
gro. He was white-headed, with a mild expression of 
countenance, very kind to his people, and respected by 
all his tribe. If there was any quarrel among them, 
they would come to him to settle it. 

As you have ^een, there was some fine hunting in his 
country. Leopards were somewhat plentiful in the for- 
est, and one day I said to the king, " Remandji, I must 
go and hunt leopards, for I want their skins." He im- 
mediately asked, pointing to my coat, if I wanted a coat 
made of leopard's skin. I said no. Then he left me, 
and a little while after came back with a man, and said, 
" It is of no use for you to go into the jungle, for we 
want to see you all the time. Here is a man who has a 
big fetich, which enables him to kill all the leopards he 
wants without the fear of being killed by them." I 
burst out laughing. The man said, " Laugh, O spirit ; 
but you will see." 

The next morning, before starting, he came to show 
himself. When he made his appearance he began a 
most curious dance, talking sometimes very loud, at oth- 
er times in a whisper, and making as many contortions 
as it is possible for a man to do. I could hardly recog- 
/ 



THE LEOPAED- CHARMER. 2 5 1 

nize him. He did not look at all like the man of the 
day before. He was painted with ochre — half the body 
yellow, the other half red ; one side of his face was red, 
the other white. On his head he had a covering made 
entirely of long feathers from the tails of strange birds. 
Eound his neck and shoulders hung an iron chain, each 
link being about one inch long, and oval. To this chain 
was suspended the skin of an animal which I had never 
seen, called ndesha, a species of large wild-cat found in 
the forest. It was spotted somewhat like the skin of a 
leopard, but the ground part was reddish. The only 
portion that could be seen was that part near the tail, 
which hung down. In this skin was tied a wonderful 
fetich, which no other man possessed, and by which he 
was able, as I have said, to slay the leopards. The 
name of the man was Okabi. So I said, " Okabi, show 
me this monda." He replied that no one could see 
that monda, for if they did they would try to make one 
like it. 

Round his waist he wore a belt made of a leopard's 
skin, which had been cut from the head, along the spine, 
to the tail. They believe that no spear can go through 
such belts. They are very much prized, each warrior 
placing great value upon his personal safety. 

This leopard-charmer started quite alone, and I thought 
no more about him during the day. 

In the evening I was seated on one of those Httle 
round Apingi stools, and Remandji and I were talking 
about the back country. I felt very much interested 
in the account he gave me of it, as he spoke of a tribe 
of people I had never seen, when lo ! what did I see ? 
Okabi, carrying on his back a dead leopard ! I rubbed 



252 



LOST m THE JUNGLE. 



my eyes, thinking it was a mistake. No ; it was Okabi 
himself, and a dead leopard. 

How Okabi got the leopard I could not imagine, but 
surely he had it, and there was no mistake about it. He 
placed the leopard at my feet, saying, " Did I not tell 
you I had a fetich to kill leopards?" Remandji also 




OKABI AND THE LEOPARD. 



said, " Did I not tell you I had a man who had a big fe- 
tich to kill leopards f 

"I believe," said I to Remandji, " that when he prom- 
ised to kill a leopard for me he had a trap set, and he 
knew that a leopard was in it. For," said I, " no man 
can make leopards come to him." " Oh yes," said Ee- 
mandji, " there are men who have fetiches which Jiav« 
power to make game come to them." 



OKABPS FETICH. 253 

I coaxed Okabi to show me his leopard fetich. He 
promised to do so the next day. He came, but I have 
very little doubt that he took something off from it he 
did not want me to see. 

He entered my hut and then untied the skin, and aft- 
er he spread it out I saw tlie contents which made the 
fetich. There were ashes of different plants, little pieces 
of wood, the small head of a young squirrel, claws of the 
wonderful guanionien, feathers of birds, bones of ani- 
mals I could not recognize, bones of birds, dried intes- 
tines of animals, some dried brain of young chimpanzee, 
a very rare land-shell, scales of fishes, a little bit of scrap- 
ings from the skull of one of his ancestors. These were 
the things that made the leopards come to him. 

"And if one of all these things you see," said he to 
me, " were missing, the fetich or monda would be good 
for nothing." 

Time passed pleasantly in that fine country, and one 
day, as I was quietly reading my Bible outside of my 
hut, a crowd assembled and watched me with wondering 
eyes. I told them that when I read this book it taught 
me that God was the Great Spirit who had made the 
stars, the moon, the rivers, the mountains, and all the wild 
beasts, and every thing that was in the world. 

Then I read some verses aloud to them. I told them 
that God said people must not worship that which they 
had made with their own hands, but any thing they 
wanted they must ask of him. They must love him. He 
said people must not tell lies — must not kill. 

Presently I let the leaves of the book slip through my 
hands to show them how many there were. As the leaves 
slipped quickly fi'om between my hand they made a slight 



254 ^ O^T IN THE JUNGLE. 

noise, when, to my great surprise, as soon as they heard 
it they fled. In an instant the whole crowd, Remandji 
and all, had disappeared, with symptoms of the great- 
est terror. It was who should run the fastest. I called 
them back, but it was in vain. The louder I shouted, the 
faster they ran. The whole village was soon entirely de- 
serted. 

I shouted, " Eemandji, come back — people, come back. 
I will do you no harm." 

By-and-by I saw Remandji's face peeping from behind 
a plantain-tree. I called him, saying " that he and his 
people ought to be ashamed of themselves for leaving 
me alone in the village." At last they came back, when 
Remandji said, " O spirit ! we ran away, for the noise 
made by what you held in your hand (meaning the Bi- 
ble) was like that made by Ococoo, and we knew not 
what was coming next. We did not know that you and 
Ococoo could talk together." Ococoo is one of the chief 
spirits of the Apingi. 

I told them it was all nonsense, and took the book 
again, but they begged me to let it alone. 

In my frequent hunting - trips through the jungle, I 
found a great many palm-trees of the kind that yields 
the oil known as palm oil. I had never before seen such 
numbers of palms, all hanging full of ripe nuts. The 
Apingi eat these nuts. Their women come loaded every 
^ay with baskets full. They eat them roasted or boiled. 

The oil is used for the ladies' toilets, either as cold 
cream for the skin or pomade for the hair. This cold 
cream is rather peculiar. The oil is mixed with clay, 
and they rub their bodies with this clean and delightful 
Tnixture, As a pomade, they sometimes put more than 



APING 1 WOMEN. 255 

half a pound of it on their hair. Every few days they 
oil their heads, often mixing clay with the oil, and, as 
they never wash, and soap is unknown, the fragrance 
coming therefrom is not of the most odoriferous kind, 
and made me often wish that I had a cold, or could not 
smell. 

These ladies wear charming little ear ornaments in the 
shape of rings three or four inches in diameter, the wire 
being often of the size of a lady's little finger. Of course 
the hole in the lobe of the ear is quite large. Their faces 
are tattooed all over, and, to crown the whole of the de- 
scription, they have, as has before been observed, a beau- 
tiful mouth, ornamented in front by two rows of teeth 
filed to a sharp point. 

They have a peculiar form of tattooed lines which is 
thought by them to be most beautiful. A broad stripe 
is drawn from the back of the neck along the shoulders, 
and across the breasts, meeting in an acute angle in the 
hollow of the chest. The fiesh is raised at least two lines 
from the level of the skin. Other stripes are drawn in 
curves along the back, and from the breast down on the 
abdomen. The legs and arms are tattooed all over, and 
their faces are literally cut to pieces. 

I never saw so much tattooing in any of the tribes I 
visited as among the Apingi. They seemed to hke it ; 
and when I reproached them for spoiling their bodies 
in such a manner, they replied, " Why, we think it is 
beautiful." And, pointing to my clothes, " Why do you 
wear garments ?" said they. " These tattooings are like 
your garments ; we think they are very fine." 

Trouble loomed in the distance for me. The people 
insisted that I must get married. Eemandji said that he 



256 LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 

must give me a housekeeper to keep my house and cook 
food for m.e. It was so; I m.ust have a cook. The 
weather was hot and unpleasant, and it would be rather 
nice to have some one to attend to the kitchen. I smiled ; 
it was a good idea. " Yes," I said, " I want a house- 
keeper." 

Eemandji brought me a lot of women. I chose the 
ugliest, whose pretty good likeness you have below, and 
installed her as my housekeeper, cook, and maid-of -all- 
work. For two or three days all went well, when, one 
fine morning, a deputation of men and women from a 




MY HOXrSEKEEPEB. 



neighboring village came to me, smiling and looking 
happy. They brought goats, fowls, and plantains ; hailed 
me as their relative, and said that they came to ask for 
presents. 

I confess that I lost my temper. I took a stick from 
my hut, the sight of which drove my would-be relatives 
and my housekeeper out of the village. They fled in the 
utmost consternation. 



REM AND JI HAS A GOOD LAUOM. 



257 



" Really," said I to myself, " these Apingi are a strange 
people." 

Remandji laughed heartily at the adventurers, saying 
to them, " I told you not to go to the spirit, as he would 
get angry at you." 




CHAPTEE XXXI. 

A GEEAT CEOWD OF STEANGEES.— I AM MADE A KING.— 

I EEMAm m -MY KINGDOM. GOOD-BY TO THE YOUNG. 

FOLKS. 

The village was crowded with strangers once more. 
All the chiefs of the tribe had arrived. What did it all 
mean? 

They had the wildest notions regarding me. I was the 
most wonderful of creatures — a mighty spirit. I could 
work wonders — turn wood into iron, leaves of trees into 
cloth, earth into beads, the waters of the Rembo Apingi 
into palm wine or plantain wine. I could make fire, the 
matches I lighted being proof of it. 

What had that immense crowd come for ? They had 
met to make me their king. A kendo, the insignia of 
chieftainship here, had been procured from the Shimba 
people, from whose country the kendo comes. 

The drums beat early this morning ; it seemed as if a 
fete-day was coming, for every one appeared joyous. I 
was quite unprepared for the ceremony that was to take 
place, for I knew nothing about it ; no one had breathed 
a word concerning it to me. When the hour arrived I 
was called out of my hut. Wild shouts rang through 
the air as I made my appearance — " Yo ! yo ! yo !" The 
chiefs of the tribe, headed by Reman dji, advanced to- 
ward me in line, each chief being armed with a spear, 



THE MOG UIZI MADE KING. 259 

the heads of which they held pointed at me. In rear of 
the chiefs were hundreds of Apingi warriors, also armed 
with spears. Were they to spear me? They stopped, 
while the drummers beat their tam-tams f miously. Then 
Remand] i, holding a kendo in his hand, came forward in 
the midst of the greatest excitement and wild shouts of 
" The moguizi is to be made our king ! the moguizi is to 
be made our Idng !" 

When Remandji stood about a yard from me a dead 
silence took place. The king advanced another step, and 
then with his right hand put the kendo on my left shoul- 
der, saying, " You are the spirit whom we have never 
seen before. We are but poor people when we see you. 
You are one of those of whom we have heard, who came 
from nobody knows where, and whom we never expect- 
ed to see. You are our king. We make you our king. 
Stay with us always, for we love you!" Whereupon 
shouts as wild as the country around came from the mul- 
titude. They shouted, " Spirit, we do not want you to 
go away — we want you forever !" 

Immense quantities of palm wine, contained in cala- 
bashes, were drank, and a general jollification took place 
in the orthodox fashion of a coronation. 

From that day, therefore, I may call myself Du Chail- 
lu the First, King of the Apingi. Just fancy, I am an 
African king ! Of all the wild castles I ever built w^hen 
I was a boy, I never dreamed that I should one day be 
made king over a wild tribe of negroes dwelHng in the 
mountains of Equatorial Africa. 

I will remain in my kingdom for a while, and see ev- 
ery thing strange that there is in it. In the mean time, 
dear Young Folks, I bid you good-by, promising that, 



260 



LOST IN THE JUNGLE. 



should you like to hear more of the country I have ex 
plored, I will, in another year, bring you back to the 
strange land where you and I have had so many adven- 
tures together. 







